Star Wars Legacy Episode I - Shadow of Evil
by MAllan921
Summary: Three hundred years have passed since the fall of the Galactic Empire. The Jedi have returned, but are divided into three orders to prevent the deception that befell the Jedi of old. On a faraway world, a nineteen year-old named Obi-Wan Shai resides with his parents; who are Jedi exiles to the outlying planet. Obi-wan's world is changed when evil arrives to seek vengeance.


Legacy : Episode I

Shadow of Evil

Over three hundred years have passed since the days of Luke Skywalker and end of the Great War…

Umaru was a sparsely populated colonial world at the edge of the outer rim. Once considered a remote planet, Umaru had since become part of a growing system with the establishment of new trade routes to territories that had grown following the fall of the Imperial Empire three centuries earlier. In the latter century and a half, tiny outpost planets like Umaru found themselves like towns along the roads to larger cities in ancient days past. Still, the misty arboreal planet barely had a population of one million sentient beings scattered broadly over its surface. A bulk of the population lived in four small equatorial cities. The rest lived among the tall mossy trees and ferns within the deciduous forests that covered the planet surface.

A panel wing spacecraft with a long sharp bow emerged from hyperspace beyond the planet Umaru. The ship resembled an old Jedi Starfighter or a Sith Infiltrator but was a much more advanced version of its ancient predecessors. Its outer wing panels were large and curved with a spade shape. Black iridescent radiation collectors ribbed in black tritanium covered the outside of the panels. The spherical body at the center of its fuselage was elongated and blended smoothly with its long, pointed bow. The shadowy figure seated at the controls of the Infiltrator stared coldly at the misty world growing ahead of his starship. His pale humanoid face was tinted to a sickly red by the dim interior lights of his vessel. The Sith's short blonde hair stood on spiked points over his head. The lone pilot extended his left hand to one of his cockpit consoles and flipped a switch to check the status of his on-board cloaking device. The grey and green orb ahead remained still, with its inhabitants unaware of the evil swiftly approaching.

Obi-Wan Shai stood atop an outcropping cliff near the base of a mountain. His home was not far away. The cliff was a favorite spot for the reddish-brown haired nineteen-year-old boy – who frequented it for meditation and practicing his weapon skills. A chain of mountains reached out into the faint mist for miles beyond Obi-Wan's field of vision. Obi-Wan held his humming blue lightsaber out in his hands out into the cold air. The blade flashed around in his grasp in practiced movements, cutting broad arcs, humming horizontal slashes, at his sides, and over his shoulders. It was almost a choreographed dance, made possible through Obi-Wan's discipline, his affinity with the force, and endless practice. Obi-Wan loved the way his lightsaber moved at his command. To him, it was a truly graceful and inspiring weapon. Never in his life had he ever considered using it on another living being. He simply admired its beauty as it moved in concert with him and the force. Obi-Wan knew that his parents would disapprove of such sentiments and selfish use of his skill. It was a secret guilty pleasure of sorts. Obi-Wan made several more fast movements with the blade before settling it in a ready stance in front of him. His blue eyes remained on the glowing blue blade for a moment before he shut the saber down; its blade vanishing with a shink.

Obi-Wan stood for a while looking out from the cliff towards the expanse of the mountain range. He stared out to the tall granite and snow covered peaks reaching up miles ahead, hazed by the frosty mist and the distance. This was not only a favorite spot to meditate but to dream. He had lived on Umaru his entire life, having only limited contact with other worlds on brief trips with his father. Though he wielded the power of the force, he wasn't considered a Jedi. His parents had nothing to do with the Triumvirate Order, even though they too possessed the skill and powers of the Jedi. He knew that they had once been Jedi Knights, but their contact with the Order had ended prior to his birth. Laura and Arik Shai never explained to their son their reasons for separating from the Order. Still, for some reason Obi-Wan's parents had taken great care in his teaching. They carefully pushed as much as they could on young Obi-Wan, as though they were preparing him for something. They claimed that his thorough teaching was normal for any Jedi, but Obi-Wan felt that somehow there was more to it than that.

A sudden deep rumbling passed through the thick clouds around Obi-Wan, echoing in a slight tremble throughout the jagged walls of the valley. The sound was not entirely new to Obi-Wan's ears. There were odd times when freighters would fly far off course on approach to the distant spaceport. The mist clouds over the range would also produce a similar sound on their own given certain weather conditions. This sound felt more deliberate, both to the ears and through the force. A foreign sensation passed through Obi-Wan's being, both from the sound and his sense of feeling. As he had been taught, he took the sensation given to him through the force to be a warning, a vague foretelling of a potential danger nearby.

With his saber handle still in his grasp, Obi-Wan quickly made his way down the mountain and headed home.

Laura Shai stood in her kitchen over her sink, washing a basket of vegetables she had collected from her garden. She brushed back a lock of her flowing blonde hair that had escaped her hair tie. It was a typical early afternoon. The house was still with Arik and Obi-wan out. A breeze flowed through the open windows near the living room behind her and out through the kitchen. She looked out the window over her sink to her garden, remembering she would have to plant new sparseroot before the next chill.

The windchimes outside clinked in the breeze.

She washed another arin squash, setting it on a clean tray beside the sink. She grabbed another squash and began to wash it when her head turned up suddenly, her blue eyes widening sharply. A dark from appeared behind her out of her sight. Dressed in black garb with pale white skin and shorty spiky blonde hair, the evil shadow raised its right arm without sound.

The Sith's red lightsaber blade shrieked to life, arcing at speed to chop down on Laura. Laura leaned away at the last moment, with the red blade flashing past her to cut down through her sink.

She threw a backhanded fist to his face, striking him back.

All of the cutlery, many sharp knives included, floated up around her kitchen to hurl at the dark figure. The Sith batted the knives and forks away, both with his saber and the force. Laura threw a flat palm at the Sith, hurling him back into the living room with the force. She then reached out in another direction.

Her lightsaber handle flew off a shelf end over end through the air into her grasp. She activated her old lightsaber's green blade and charged the intruder.

Arik Shai had been prospecting in a dry lakebed nearby. His home was near what was once a broad deep lake, long since diverted for centuries, within the outskirts of a forest. Arik had been collecting Isolinar, a liquefied mineral found beneath Umaru's surface that was used by beings throughout the galaxy for medicinal purposes. A bag containing a powerful drill and several lengths of bits was slung over his back along with a pair of small plastic tanks. The pipe Arik used to extract the Isolinar from the ground doubled as his walking staff as he headed home.

The journey out of the dried lake bed passed as normally as it had on every other prospecting trip for Arik. It wasn't until he was less than half a mile from his home that Arik felt something disturbing. His home was a collection of modular units often used as temporary housing and security outposts on Umaru and other colony worlds. The four containers were set in a U-shaped pattern around a modest garden. From a distance, the home seemed very calm. Arik felt differently and quickened his pace.

"Laura." He called out.

A flash of green and red light appeared from around one of the modular units. Laura's green lightsaber lashed out into the red blade of the black garbed humanoid Sith. Their exchange was fierce, with Laura pushing the Sith out into open ground away from her home, defending it with the tenacity of a mother.

"Laura!" Arik shouted, dropping his length of pipe and allowing his equipment pack to slip off his shoulder as he broke into a full sprint. Arik's hand went to the lightsaber hooked to his belt.

Laura deflected a pair of high swings above her shoulders, cut out to the Sith's side, traded three swift strikes with the Sith's blade, then ducked a high flat swing meant for her neck.

Arik ran as fast as he could, desperate to help his beloved wife. He could sense Obi-Wan nearby. The overriding dread gripped Arik as husband and father rather than Jedi.

The Sith blocked a hard swing to his side, then inverted his humming red blade over his shoulder, cut out twice at Laura, had his blade deflected up, then turned his blade again to block a heavy overhead swing from Laura's green blade. The Sith held Laura's blade for a moment, tipped up another cracking strike, and turned into a sweeping arc that cut through Laura's waist.

"NO!" Arik screamed as he leaped the final few feet with his activated blue blade. Arik's blue saber cracked down heavily on the Sith's red blade as he landed. The Sith and Arik found themselves locked in mortal combat, with unrelenting strikes and cuts thrown by their blades towards one another.

Obi-Wan had just rushed over the top of a nearby hill and had witnessed his mother being cut down. The sight of it had frozen him in his tracks. He knew she was dead. His breaths came to him in heavy gasps as his blue eyes stared down at the body of his mother. He then forced himself back into the moment, seeing his father still engaged in a heated duel in the courtyard of his home. Obi-Wan activated his blue lightsaber blade and ran down the hill hurriedly to help.

Arik angled his blade expertly to block a group of strikes meant for his upper body. His blue blade cracked into a swing and back in return with barely restrained anger against the Sith's red blade. The two traded several more fast swings as Obi-Wan ran towards them. The Sith turned Arik's blade in a long overhead arc to hold him and his blade at his side.

"Yes! The hate!" the Sith sneered, with his pale white face inches from Arik's. "I have defeated you already!"

Arik shoved the Sith back in response and cut out high for the Sith's head, to its left side, its right, blocked a pair of energized strikes from the Sith, then cut out in reverse for the Sith's upper body. The Sith leaned away. Arik leaned to his side in the next fraction of a second, evading a returning cut. Obi-Wan was almost upon them. Arik didn't want his son to interfere. Arik had already succumbed to his temptations to the dark side, making him lash out even harder at the Sith. It was an intoxicating fury. He batted the Sith repeatedly with his lightsaber, trying viciously to break through the defense of his humming red lightsaber blade. A sharp upward swing made the Sith jump back. Arik threw whatever loose material he could find in the courtyard at the Sith as it jumped back up to the roof of his home. The Sith pushed away many of the objects hurled at him, but not the direct shove thrown at him through the force by Arik. The Sith flew backwards over the other side of the house.

"Come on!" Arik shouted to his son.

"But…" Obi-Wan felt unsure, looking more closely at his mother's body.

"COME ON!" Arik yelled, urging his son away.

Obi-Wan complied and ran with his father towards the forest in the distance.

The Sith ran out from around one of the modular home units with his red saber ready, eager to renew the fight. His blue eyes, looking out from recessed dark sockets scanned the area for his prey. Obi-Wan and Arik had vanished.

Obi-Wan and his father ran as far and as fast as they could through the forest, eventually overtaken by their own shock and fatigue. Obi-Wan slouched over to catch his breath, his deactivated saber still in a death grip in his right hand. They were not yet deep into the forest. The smaller trees on the fringe of the woodlands only offered modest visual cover. Arik was quick to want to continue on.

"Let's go. He could still be close behind." Arik noted seriously.

"What was that…. thing?" Obi-Wan demanded as he regained his breath.

"A Sith Knight. Very dangerous. Very powerful." Arik began to stride with his son at his side.

"I thought they were defeated in the Great War?" Obi-Wan squinted in the bright light at his father.

"Evidently not." Arik responded grimly.

Their pace quickened as they moved deeper into the forest. Obi-Wan could sense a feeling of uneasiness, both in himself and in the many creatures hiding throughout the forest. They all knew that danger was close by. Obi-Wan then glanced at his father as they ran, sensing an odd, troubling feeling from him through the force.

"Father?" Obi-Wan spoke out in an uneasy voice.

"Not now, Obi-Wan." Arik replied evenly, staring ahead of their path.

"What happened back there…."

"Your mother is dead, Obi-Wan." Arik looked ahead for a while, then turned his head briefly towards his son. "I couldn't help myself."

"It was only…"

"There it is." Arik noted seriously, running a bit faster.

Ahead was a group of small stone buildings overgrown with vines and trees. The buildings were set in a short pair of rows, divided by what had once been a dirt street. It was an old outpost town, abandoned decades ago and left to nature to reclaim. There was some evidence of past lives in the small village. A few rusted pots here and there. An old fuel canister to their left. A sign in barely legible Aurebesh text remained next to the entrance of one of the overgrown buildings, reading "security annex." Ahead was a small landing pad with a familiar ship parked on its raised surface. The ship was Arik's old transport, one that Obi-Wan had taken trips on him with when he was younger. Obi-Wan thought his father had sold the ship and was quite surprised to see it again.

"You remember how to power it up, don't you?" Arik asked as they came to a stop before the pad.

"I could probably still fly, father!"

"Listen." Arik turned to his son and grabbed him by the shoulders to face him. "If something happens to me I want you to get to the Jedi Temple on Tatooine. Tell them what happened here. They'll know what to do!"

"Father?" Obi-Wan replied in confusion.

"Just promise me, damn it!" Arik demanded loudly.

"I promise." Obi-Wan answered a bit hesitantly.

At that moment, the Sith appeared at the far end of the dirt path running through the village. Arik, with his hands still holding on to his son, turned his head to stare down the Sith. The Sith stood ready at the far end with his glowing red lightsaber held out at his right side.

"I'm damned already." Arik murmured to himself, staring a bit longer at the Sith before looking again to his son. "But you can still be saved."

Arik let go and retrieved his saber from his belt as he walked towards the Sith, igniting his blue blade again.

"Get on the ship and get her started." Arik ordered his son with his back to him.

"Father. We can take him together." Obi-Wan protested.

The Sith smirked at the far end of the street, waiting for his fight.

"No, we can't." Arik replied sternly. "Our only chance is escape. Now get that ship started before you get us both killed!"

Arik stared for the eternity of a few seconds back at his son; his child. Arik had the expression both of a loving father and a doomed man resigned to his fate.

"I love you son." Arik noted with genuine warmth and endearing brown eyes back at his son.

"I love you too, father." Obi-wan replied with equal terrified sincerity.

In that moment Arik turned his eyes back at Syrik. Arik's gaze became cold in the turn of his head, staring down at the Sith and ready to fight. He rotated his blue lightsaber blade at his side in a rallying move, preparing his fighting stance.

Obi-Wan ran up the short group of metal steps onto the pad and into the small transport. The transport had a large, almost diamond-shaped cockpit with short stubby wings extended from its side. A long tail resembling that of an insect extended back from between the two main conical thrusters mounted to the top rear of the main fuselage. Obi-Wan entered the transport through its access hatch at its rear and dropped himself into the pilot seat.

Arik and the Sith walked towards each other, almost with a mutual respect. Both seemed to express the certainty that only one would walk away from the fight.

Obi-Wan could see both of them directly ahead through the transport's triangular-shaped canopy as he hurried to get the ship powered up. Arik seemed to be saying something to the Sith that Obi-Wan could not hear. The Sith replied inaudibly beyond the other side of the canopy.

"You can't have him, Syrik." Arik replied sternly to the Sith.

"We'll see about that." Syrik responded coldly, raising his saber up in a half-hearted salute, then charged towards Arik.

Arik's and Syrik's blades met again in rapid succession. Arik's inverted his blade at his left, brought it around to squelch back a high swing from Syrik, and lunged for Syrik only to have the Sith turn away while knocking Arik's blade upward. Arik moved in even steps to his left to try and contain Syrik's movement while clashing his saber against the Sith's in a furious succession. Their blades arced in fast energized shrieks, crackled against each other for a moment above Arik's shoulders, then traded several fast strikes around their bodies.

Obi-Wan watched intently at the duel beyond his canopy. He was nearly done getting the transport ready for lift off. He wished the transport had weapons!

Arik's blue blade flashed past Syrik's face, missing it by inches. Syrik rotated around from another downward swing, blocked a waist high strike, then leaned away from a hard diagonal swing, lashing his blade out to squelch off of Arik's back.

Arik cried out from the blow, nearly falling forward. The end of Syrik's blade flashed back through the right side of Ariks chest at his ribs, causing the Jedi to fall forward on his knees.

Obi-Wan's heart nearly stopped as he saw Syrik raising his lightsaber blade above his head, preparing to deliver the killing blow. Arik remained on the ground, holding his upper body up on one arm while looking blankly out ahead of him.

"May the force be with you, Obi-Wan." Arik exhaled sadly as he stared into nothingness, a faint moment before Syrik's blade cut down through his body to finish him.

"NO!" Obi-Wan was destroyed, his breaths gripped by fear and disbelief. "Father…."

Obi-Wan was unsure of what to do. He had just seen both of his parents slaughtered. The transport was ready to fly. Obi-Wan had simply assumed that his father would defeat the Sith – that they would be on their way. He never considered the possibility that his father would lose, that Arik would die and that he would be on his own. He wanted to go out and fight the Sith, but was frozen by the fear that exuded from the dark warrior. He stared at the Sith, still standing over the body of his father with his red lightsaber held out at the end position of the killing blow that had ended Arik's life.

The Sith turned his pale blue eyes up to Obi-Wan, bearing his teeth in a bloodthirsty grin. He moved away from Arik's body and towards the transport pad, ready to finish off the last of his quarry.

Obi-Wan reacted without thinking. He powered up the Starhawk's repulsors and raised the ship off the pad. Syrik, nearly at the pad, raised his right arm to brace against the massive wind and repulse force coming from the ascending starship. The dark being was pushed back by the thrust of the Starhawk. Obi-Wan took a quick look out the cockpit. He could see the Sith run off into a different direction, perhaps towards a hidden vessel. The Starhawk throttled forward, pitching its nose up into the overcast sky.

The effort to fly the Starhawk overtook Obi-Wan's mind for a while as he directed the ship further up into Umaru's atmosphere. He had not flown in a while and it took some time for Obi-Wan to remember the systems. As he became more comfortable with the ship, Obi-Wan started to wonder why his father had moved the ship to a seemingly hidden location. Why did he keep the ship and give him the impression that he had sold it? The evidence seemed to point to the fact that his parents, or at least his father, had anticipated a potential emergency. And if that was the case, Obi-Wan guessed that his parents might have anticipated the appearance of the Sith. Is that why they had pushed him so hard in his training? Had they foreseen such a threat? Whatever the case, Obi-Wan was now alone and his parents were dead. He needed to fulfill his promise to his father and tell the Jedi Council on Tatooine of what had happened.

Obi-Wan was close to the edge of the Umarian atmosphere when an unexpected signal hailed his ship. He looked out to the communications console, seeing that the signal was on an open microwave band. Obi-Wan extended a hesitant hand towards the 'receive' switch, then toggled it.

"You were fortunate to escape, boy." A grave voice resounded chillingly through his com speakers. Obi-Wan allowed the words to hang in the air as he stared at the flashing lights of the comm system. "There is nowhere you can go that I can't find you."

Obi-Wan toggled the comm switch again and returned both of his hands to the flight controls. A moment later, an alert klaxon sounded from his close-range sensors. There was a ship approaching fast from behind.

"Damn!" Obi-Wan grunted, sensing danger through the force and cutting his ship hard, high and to the left.

Green turbolaser rounds screamed past the underside of the Starhawk, then over its left wing as Obi-Wan banked the ship in the opposite direction. Obi-Wan piloted his ship with the force far better than his experience would allow. He knew his life depended on it. Green turbolasers continued to flash around the Starhawk as the Sith Infiltrator chased the small transport out into open space.

Obi-Wan steered the Starhawk quickly through several evasive maneuvers, escaping the continuing streams of turbolaser fire being shot at him from the Infiltrator closing in behind him. He knew he had to escape into hyperspace. He wouldn't be able to escape the Sith Infiltrator indefinitely and his pursuer was a far better pilot. The only advantage that kept Obi-Wan alive was that his Starhawk was smaller and more maneuverable. He entered a series of automatic maneuvers into his maneuvering system, then turned in his chair towards the hyperdrive computer mounted on the bulkhead to his left. Obi-Wan hands moved swiftly over the brushed silver interface keys as he checked the two-dimensional holographic screens showing several maps of the galaxy. There were no preset coordinates in the system as Obi-Wan had hoped there would be. He found himself working without purely conscious thought, relying on the mathematics his parents had taught him as well as his skills to navigate through the force. Through the force, he could sense the locations of distant systems, which helped him 'cheat' the computer to find a set of workable coordinates easily. His ship continued to bank and roll away from the Infiltrator's fire. The Starhawk was nearly at the end of the set of automated maneuvers Obi-Wan had entered. Obi-Wan tried to find an exit point closer to Tatooine but his time quickly ran out. He entered the last set of coordinates he could work out, then turned in his chair back to the flight controls.

Without human control of the Starhawk, Syrik found it a bit easier to target the vehicle. Obi-Wan had barely returned to the controls when four blaster rounds flashed out from the pointed bow of the Infiltrator and detonated into the shielding of the small craft.

The Starhawk pitched into a slight roll from the blast. Alarms continued to sound inside the cockpit of Obi-Wan's ship as he struggled in his chair against the controls. He managed to bring the Starhawk into a spin, evading a volley of rounds from the Infiltrator, one of which scorched off his ventral shielding. The nav console in front of Obi-Wan beeped, indicating that the nav computer had processed the jump coordinates. Obi-Wan reached out with his right hand and pulled back on the hyperdrive controls.

The stars ahead of Obi-Wan's ship stretched out to the sides of his peripheral vision in long blue-white beams. The Starhawk shot forwards into the eternity of space, leaving the deadly Sith Infiltrator and Umaru far behind.

Ketlis sat his overweight Kaltonian frame down in the command chair of the freighter _Triple Nova_. It was Ketlis' turn to take the graveyard watch over the modest bridge. The well-worn leather and metal braces of the comm chair creaked under Ketlis' weight. He took a sip of javaka from his brushed silver mug under the faint lights of the bridge. The bridge itself was tinted mostly by the red lights from several consoles around Ketlis, with a few other greens and blues over various other consoles. Graveyard shift was always a horrible detail for most hands of the _Triple Nova_, but not so much for Ketlis. Ketlis enjoyed the tranquility, of seeing the stars float gently towards the main viewport ahead of him as the _Nova_ flew through normal space. A few more sips of javaka, normally a stimulant, combined with Ketlis' poor metabolism and the faint hum of the air processors caused Ketlis to drift into a near slumber.

The sounds of footsteps on the deck plates behind Ketlis stirred him from his drowsiness. A humanoid entered the bridge from its more brightly lit access corridor at its rear. A tall lanky humanoid male with dark brown hair moved about the bridge, apparently looking for something.

"You better not have been dozing on watch again, Ketlis, you fat slug!" the humanoid grunted as he continued his search in the dark.

Ketlis burped faintly before responding. "I was awake, damn it."

"You seen my eight count spanner kit?" the humanoid, Commander Devlin, asked. "Damn! Hit the lights will ya?"

Ketlis moved his bulk slightly to his right and depressed the tactile control for the lights, raising their brilliance by two settings. Devlin continued his search, looking over and under nearly every inch of the ten by twenty bridge, at both of its nav consoles set near the viewport, at its flight engineer station, and at the comm station. The increased lighting revealed the true aging on the silver and brown shelled components and the wear on the brown leather seating, the worn control surfaces, and a few spots of grime.

"I could have sworn…"

Devlin was interrupted by a beeping on the nearby nav console, which echoed at the engineering station as well. The first officer leaned over to the main engineering station monitor and activated its viewer. The screen showed a three-dimensional green frame model of space around them, with a small blip ahead and starboard of their heading.

"What the hell is that?" Devlin asked as Ketlis stood up to loom over his shoulder.

"Trade Feds?" Ketlis asked warily.

"No." Devlin increased the resolution on the scanner display. "This one's on its own. Too small to be a freighter of cruiser."

"What is it?" the ship's Captain, Anison Harrik, asked. Harrik was a man in his late forties with a groomed brown and grey beard and a black nylon-weave journeyman jacket. Harrik took a drag a metal yulon pipe before leaning in to look at the screen.

"Small transport, Cap'n. Looks like a sloop or small launch." Devlin replied with his brown eyes fixed on the blip.

"That's a…" Harrik's aged eyes squinted. "It's a Sienar Starhawk!" Harrik's eyes widened. "I haven't seen one of those in that condition in over a decade! What's her heading?"

"She's drifting at 12 MSK out into open space." Devlin replied, having a better view of the readout of the sensor data. "She has blast damage to the starboard thruster. Life signs are inconclusive."

"Inconclusive?" Harrik looked up to his first officer.

"It only says that there's organic material on board. Nothing detailed." Devlin answered.

"Bring us up slowly and draw her into the service hangar." Harrik ordered.

"Sir, are you sure?" Devlin asked. "It could be a Trade Federation scout."

"Not this far out in open space." Harrik explained. "We'd get some sort of signal bounce on the long range if that Starhawk was based from another ship. Pull us up and take her in."

"Aye, sir." Devlin replied obediently.

Harrik turned around and exited the small bridge. The captain walked directly towards the turboshaft, eager to get down to the hold to receive the vessel.

The _Triple Nova_ turned its sizable mass slowly to the starboard. The _Nova_ was a medium sized freighter with a rectangular grey shape. The bridge viewport, just below that of the captain's quarters, was near the top of the forward sloped bow. Four long rectangular thrusters pushed the ship at its rear.

Obi-Wan's drifting Starhawk floated slowly ahead, turning in an ever-so-slight free rotation.

The steel wedge-shaped doors at the lower section of the _Nova's_ bow split open to retrieve the Starhawk. Like a massive beast slowly moving to consume smaller prey, the _Triple Nova_ crept slowly through space directly towards Obi-Wan's ship. The _Nova_ was without a hangar bay forcefield, forcing it to use an interior blast door at the front of the bay as the back end of a large airlock. A pair of tractor beam emitters mounted to gantry ceiling tracts aimed for the Starhawk and captured it with their invisible rays. The Starhawk lurched a bit more quickly towards the hold upon capture. The forward doors slowly shut as the ship drifted into the front of the hold, allowing the rear doors to creak open. The tractor beam emitters continued to move back along their ceiling tracts into the main section of the _Nova's_ long narrow hangar bay. The Starhawk was rotated on the beams and set down on the aged grey deck, several feet from where Harrik and a few of his men were waiting. A loud thud echoed through the steel cavern hangar as the Starhawk was set down.

Two of Harrik's younger hands moved in towards the ship with prybars ready. Harrick took a quick examination of the blaster damage to the short left wing and engine of the ship. Commander Devlin walked up to the controls of the rear access doors of the ship. Devlin opened the cover of the manual release and pulled its handle. A loud clank escaped the door as it gave slightly, pulling its brushed metal slab inward to jam.

"Mag locks are skewed!" Devlin grumbled at the door before gesturing for the two young humanoid males holding the electro-prybars to step forward. "See if you guys can break it."

The prybars were wedged into the doors seams and began glowing with a faint blue light as the deck hands exerted their strength against them. The bars changed in brilliance in relation to the force exerted on them as their embedded coils attempted to cheat the magnetic field holding the hatch shut.

"Easy, Nash!" Harrik grunted. "This ain't your daddy's sublight!"

Nash, the dark-haired hand Harrik had scolded, edged his prybar into a different position and pushed. He and his dark-skinned shipmate pushed harder on the door for a few minutes longer, eventually breaking the seal and allowing a hiss of cold air to escape from the seams. The brushed metal slab slid back and up, revealing the dark interior of the Starhawk. Nash and the other hand, Ryan Attim, stepped aside and allowed Harrik to enter the small transport.

The confined interior of the Starhawk was as cold as it was dark, with only a few of the instrumentation lights blinking at separate parts of the ship. Most of the systems had been set to standby, a procedure Harrik guessed was done in response to an emergency. Harrik didn't expect anyone to be alive on the ship. The inconclusive lifesigns were probably due to aged bacteria on the body of whatever corpse he expected to find. It was too cold inside the ship for anything to live for very long. Harrik himself was rather thankful for the hot air of his hangar bay and the venting of the cold air inside the ship out.

The right shoulder and the side of the face of the apparently lone human occupant could be seen by Harrik from his position. The heavyset captain took a few steps forward and slowly rotated the pilot chair towards him. There, seated with a slight glint of moisture on his body, was a young humanoid boy with scruffy brown hair dressed in a rather ordinary tan nylon jacket, white undershirt, and tan trousers of someone who most likely lived on a colony world. The young boy's eyes were shut, apparently resting in the peaceful sleep of death.

"Poor kid." Harrik breathed with a twinge of sympathy, though not loud enough for the rest of his crew to hear. Harrik then turned his eyes down to the glint from an object strapped to the dead teenager's side. Harrik turned the chair a bit more to allow faint light from his hangar bay to better illuminate the object.

"A lightsaber." Commander Devlin's voice stated the obvious behind Harrik.

Harrik glanced at Devlin, then sat down in the copilot char beside Obi-wan's body. Harrik leaned his bulk forward and slowly extended his right hand towards Obi-Wan's lightsaber to retrieve it. It had, thus far, been a day of finding trophies for Harrik. First, a rare, speedy transport, then a Jedi's lightsaber.

"Be careful sir. I hear those things are dangerous." Devlin warned aloud.

Harrik paused for a moment to turn his hear towards Devlin and give him a blank stare. "No kidding? Thanks, Dev!" Harrik then returned his attention to Obi-Wan and his lightsaber. Harrik's hand was just about grasped around the silver and black handle of the weapon when Obi-Wan's cold right hand suddenly grabbed onto the captain's wrist.

Harrik's grey eyes shot wide in shock as they turned up to meet Obi-Wan's gaze.

"It's not polite to take what doesn't belong to you." Obi-Wan said in a tired voice.

"Jez, kid! I thought you were dead!" Harrik pulled his arm free and sat back in the copilot chair.

"Only just barely." Obi-Wan replied cryptically. The young boy's strength quickly returned to him as he focused through the force in an attempt to revive himself. "Where am I?"

"You're on my ship. The _Triple Nova_." Harrik replied. "About nine days out of Bestine on sublight. My name's Captain Anison Harrik. This is my first officer, Juros Devlin. What might your name be, kid?"

"Obi-Wan Shai." Obi-Wan replied, stirring upright in his chair. "I'm from the planet Umaru."

"That's one of those colony worlds near the Aradian trade route, right?" Harrik asked. "I think I've passed that region a few times."

"What happened to you and your ship?" Devlin pressed, standing over the boy with his left elbow braced against one of the overhead consoles. "Kind of odd finding a Jedi boy on his own out here, especially outside the standard traffic lanes."

"My family…." Obi-Wan had some trouble remembering what had happened at first, then recalled everything with crystal clarity. The experience was enough to overwhelm him for a moment. "… my family was killed by… a Sith warrior."

"Sith?" Harrik barked in surprise. "Kid, there ain't been any Sith in over three hundred years!"

"It was a Sith." Obi-Wan replied with bitter certainty. "I saw it kill my mother and my father right before my eyes." Obi-Wan took a deep breath, trying not to allow his grief overwhelm him. "I need to get to the Jedi Temple on Tatooine. As soon as possible."

"Woah, wait a minute, kid!" Harrik looked at Obi-Wan seriously. "This ship isn't going anywhere remotely close to Tatooine. In fact, I think we're moving in the opposite direction if I'm remembering right."

"Yeah. Tatooine's about a hundred light years aft." Devlin interjected.

"I have to get there somehow, and quickly! The Jedi must be told of this Sith! This is a danger that could affect the entire galaxy!"

"Kid, this is a commercial freighter on a tight schedule." Harrik noted sternly. "You want me to turn this ship around based on your word? The word of some eighteen year-old kid?"

"Nineteen." Obi-Wan corrected Harrik.

"Whatever!"

"Then I'd appreciate it if you could take me to your next stop." Obi-Wan pressed. "I'm sure I'd be able to make my way from wherever it is you're going," Obi-Wan scanned Harrik and Devlin's faces, as well as those of Nash and the other deck hand, "so long as you're traveling to a civilized sector."

Harrik looked over to Devlin, then back at Obi-Wan. "Define civilized."

Obi-Wan chuckled, even though he knew Harrik was hiding something and digging somewhat with the response. "My only concern is getting to Tattoine as fast as I can."

Harrik stared down Obi-Wan for a moment, as if deciding what he should do with him. "Well, this isn't a pleasure cruise. It's going to take a few days for us to get to the Clenestine System, and boarding you is going to cost me money. I'm going to need something in exchange for payment."

"Like what?"

"Well," Harrik tried his best not to act so obvious in his intentions, "your ship is going to cost you a lot to repair. Parts for a Seinar Starhawk are tough to come by and usually pretty expensive. You'd be better off trading it to me for passage."

"You guys picked me up." Obi-wan protested. "You generally treat rescues like this?"

"You'd rather still be adrift?" Devlin noted in an odd half-threat.

Obi-wan turned a sideways glance at Devlin. "No deal. That ship's worth a lot more than passage would cost on your ship."

"You got any money, then?" Harrik asked.

"No." Obi-Wan answered. "I'll probably have to sell this ship to get passage back to Tatooine. What'll I do if I give it to you? You'd be better off setting me adrift again – as your first officer said." Obi-Wan seemed to look through Harrik.

Harrik sat a bit puzzled, grinning over the fact that the Jedi had sensed his thoughts. Harrik had, in fact, thought about setting Obi-Wan adrift, only without his ship.

"Tough kid!" Devlin noted, still hovering somewhat over Obi-Wan.

"Try me and see." Obi-Wan looked up to the first officer. Obi-Wan didn't like to act in such a malicious manner, but knew that he couldn't show weakness to these pirates. And he didn't like Devlin's not-so-subtle threats. "I'm sure you've heard stories about the Jedi, haven't you?"

"Alright, there's no need for that!" Harrik tried to calm the situation down. He looked back at Obi-Wan again and waited for the teenager to return his gaze. "How about passage and three thousand creds. That'll get you back to Tatooine from Clenestine in style. And it looks from scans that your navigational alignment system was damaged in… whatever fight you were in. You won't be able to jump again into hyperspace without fixing it. And that means parts. Parts we don't have and parts you need money for."

"I'd like to inspect my ship myself." Obi-wan replied.

"Captain is telling it to you straight." Nash noted.

Obi-wan looked at the young hand. He seemed to be honest in his words based on what Obi-wan could tell through the force.

"Six thousand credits and safe passage." Harrik repeated his offer. "That's probably the best offer you'd get from someone in our line of work."

Obi-Wan stared at Harrik for a moment, as if sizing him up. He knew from the force that Harrik was being honest, even if the aged humanoid was considering doing harm against him. Obi-Wan also sense that Harrik's defensiveness stemmed solely from what he may be carrying in his holds, which Obi-Wan had no interest in.

"Deal." Obi-Wan finally answered. "Now, is there somewhere on this ship where I could find some food? I'm starving."

"We'll be getting dinner ready soon. Galley's three levels up." Harrik explained. "Mister Devlin will escort you and sort everything out."

"Thanks." Obi-Wan replied as he finally stood. His limbs were still somewhat slow to respond, but Obi-Wan quickly recovered to disguise his fatigue with strength. Obi-Wan edged his way past Harrik to follow Devlin out of his ship and into the hangar.

Harrik kept his eyes trained on Obi-Wan as he passed. He was still somewhat unsure of the young Jedi, as were his hands, particularly Nash.

"Should we throw him out, Cap'n?" another hand asked in a low tone once he was sure Obi-Wan was out of earshot.

"Not yet." Harrik replied as he stood up. "He was scared. It takes some doing to scare a Jedi, even a young one. I want to see what I can find out before we send him out the airlock."

Darth Syrik waited in a drifting ship, allowing his Infiltrator to move freely through space as the passive sensor package along its dagger shaped nose listened to comm signal traffic. Syrik sat very still in the pilot chair of his ship and calmed his thoughts, allowing the faint and muddled signals coming from his cabin speakers to fluctuate in static disarray around him. His ship's comm encryption computer would fix on any signal based on specific keywords used in the conversation, in any of two hundred and twenty five languages. Syrik had positioned his ship within the region of space where he calculated that Obi-Wan had exited from hyperspace. Without any significant leads to follow, he could only wait.

It was only after eating dinner that Obi-Wan could rest and truly reflect on what had happened in the last week. He walked casually from the main mess hall back to the small compartment Commander Devlin had assigned to him as his quarters. The compartment was in much the same shape as the narrow access corridors Obi-Wan passed through. There was a very utilitarian and worn feel to everything. Many of the old wall coverings that had once hid power conduits and various environmental systems were absent. The metal conduits and components themselves had areas that seemed to have painted over corrosion. The faint sounds of rushing air and a slight hum of power filled the corridors.

Obi-Wan spotted the _Triple Nova's_ Sluissi engineer, Gheris, working down one of the adjoining passages. The half-seprentine mechanic eyed Obi-Wan and flashed him a brief sneer before slithering off back to his work. Obi-Wan paid Gheris little mind as he walked on.

Obi-Wan eventually found his way to a long transparisteel window that looked out into space. A faint layer of grime covered the window but still offered a fair view of the stars. It was there that Obi-Wan finally felt the weight of everything that had happened to him. Alone, with one hand pressed against the glass, he remembered the slaughter of his parents. He realized that he was alone, out in an unfamiliar galaxy. His head dropped forward as tears filled his eyes. Looking out into the stars, he cried, a lost soul adrift in the stars.

The door to Captain Harrik's stateroom slid open as its main occupant entered its dark interior. The _Triple Nova_ was closing in on the primary fourth planet of the Clenestine system; the planet for which it was named. The unary yellow sun of the system was slowly growing in brilliance ahead of the freighter, causing the stateroom to be bathed in a slight amber hue from the broad viewport that looked ahead of the ship.

Harrik's stateroom was fairly functional. A rectangular metal framed holo-projector coffee table sat in the center of the room. A soft leather chair was set on one side of the table, Harrik's unmade double-wide bunk on the other. A small desk was set against the far left wall in the corner. Like most of the other things in the ship, everything in Harrik's stateroom seemed to be several years old and somewhat worn. The only few exceptions were a few souvenirs that Harrik had collected on many of his recent journeys throughout the galaxy.

Harrik sat down in his easy chair and depressed the activation button for the holotable. He then entered in one of several encrypted codes to uplink of his ship's long-range transceiver, aiming it towards a far-off point in the galaxy. The image of a humanoid middle-aged male appeared at small scale in the center of the table. The human wore well-tailored fashionable clothes. A goatee covered his face and his long grey hair was pulled back behind his head. "What is it, Captain?" the flickering blue-tinged humanoid image asked evenly.

"We picked up something odd on our trip." Harrik said nonchalantly as he eased back into his chair.

"How odd?" the humanoid asked with a tone of worry.

"It's nothing we can't handle." Harrik stated surely. "We found a ship floating about fifty light years out of our destination system. There was a Jedi child on board."

"Captain. You can't seriously think that having a Jedi on board is safe considering your circumstances, can you?"

"He's not interested in us." Harrik noted to the figure, a scale representation of businessman Minos Redsun. "He claims that a Sith warrior came after his family and killed his mother and father. He's on his way to Tatooine to tell the Jedi what happened. We told him that we would drop him off at Celnestine so he can make his way back on his own."

"I don't like this, Captain!" Redsun's small hologram folded its arms over its chest. "Your actions could seriously jeopardize our plans. My client will be very displeased if you fail to deliver."

"I don't think this Jedi will make it to Clenestine." Harrik said with cold indifference. "What I want to know about is this Sith. He could be either a potential asset or a future threat."

"I wouldn't pursue such an alliance." Redsun scoffed. "If this boy is telling the truth, which I doubt, what makes you think we could deal with such a creature? The Sith are storied for their deep desire for power. The only people that ever associated with the Sith were the beings forced to serve them."

"Still, I think we should find out more." Harrik debated. "The Sith have been absent for over three hundred years. Anyone who knows as much information as they can about this Sith could have a distinct advantage." Harrik paused for a moment to light his yulon pipe and think. "Information like this can have value."

Redsun's image remained still in thought for a moment. A waft of yulon smoke floated through his holographic form, causing him to glow oddly for a moment. "Do as you will, Captain. My client is very powerful. He is near your area of space and will hear quickly of any trouble. Keep your eyes on this young Jedi and dispose of him at the first sign that he may become a problem. Remember, nothing you do will get back to my client. If you screw up, you'll find yourself out there on your own!"

"Fair enough." Harrik exhaled a cloud of thick smoke.

Minos Redsun's image vanished from the holotable as the signal was terminated at the other end. Harrik reached over and reset the controls of his holotable. He remained still upon turning the switch, then eased back again into his easy chair. Harrik took another deep draw off his pipe and stared into nothingness, then turned his grey eyes out to space. His ship was getting close to Clenestine. He would have to act soon.

Obi-Wan took another walk around the ship to settle his mind. There was nothing really to do in his room but sleep. He knew that some of the _Triple Nova's_ hands might find his continued walks through the ship as somewhat suspicious, yet Obi-Wan didn't care. Obi-Wan felt completely safe. His parents had taught him well. The only thing that worried Obi-Wan was the Sith; that it would somehow find him. He couldn't help but feel that he was running out of time, that a confrontation was only an eventuality. Obi-Wan felt sure about his skills with the force and with a lightsaber, yet his parents had also been very skilled. Obi-Wan knew from his teachings that he wasn't supposed to doubt his abilities, but having seen his parents killed by the Sith within moments of each other made that confidence falter. Hopefully, he would be able to get to Tatooine before Syrik could find him.

Gheris worked with Nash and Ryan along an access corridor not far from Obi-Wan. The trio was working on the power flow to a small navigation cluster along the starboard side of the ship. Two tool cases were set along the side of the thick power conduit. Nash watched one of the relay displays as Ryan waited to reroute the power stream. Gheris grabbed a large spanner, a torque ratchet, and an ionic flow probe from the tool cases. The Sluissi then jumped upward on his coiled lower body and slithered up into the narrow dark space above the pipes.

"So what did happen with that girl on Bestine, Nash?" Ryan asked curiously, continuing a conversation the group was having.

"I don't know. She got all angry with me when I told her I had to go." Nash replied, adjusting one of the readout controls. "I spent two of our last three leaves on Bestine with her but she was still unhappy!"

"Well, you left to go meet that one Twi'lek girl we ran into at that bar on the first day, right?" Ryan guessed.

"Yeah, but Erianna didn't know that." Nash referred to the first girl. "I told her from the beginning that I wasn't looking for anything serious."

"What… species was she?" Gheris asked from behind the pipe, apparently struggling to move something.

"Humanoid." Nash answered, suddenly grabbing another spanner to force open an outside release valve.

"Well, there's your problem." Gheris peeked out from over the pipe at Nash. "Human women always have a problem with expectations. You should try hooking up with a Sluissi woman."

"I've tried that before." Nash grinned.

Gheris stuck his head out over the pipe again, this time to stare down at Nash. "So, what happened with that?"

Nash chuckled briefly. "She nearly broke my legs with her constrictions."

Gheris laughed out loud as her returned back to his work. "That sounds about right. Our women can sometimes be a tad too affectionate!"

"That's just wrong!" Ryan grumbled in disgust at the thought of the interspecies relationship. "Don't ever bring that up again, Nash!"

"Don't knock it 'till you've tried it." Gheris responded.

"I'll stick with bipedal women, thanks!" Ryan smirked.

Obi-Wan walked past the access passage to the section where the _Nova's_ techs were working. All three noticed Obi-Wan move past. Gheris grunted as he continued to tighten a seal to the power conduit.

"I don't like that kid." Gheris groaned. "I don't like how he walks around this ship like he owns it."

"You want me to keep an eye on him?" Nash asked.

Gheris looked out at Obi-Wan again for a moment, then looked at Ryan. "You think you can handle this on your own?"

"Yeah." Ryan answered.

"Alright." Gheris answered Nash. "Go follow him. If he does anything funny, come get me or tell Devlin or the Captain."

Nash set down his spanner and slowly moved down to the access passage to follow Obi-Wan.

Nash didn't follow Gheris' orders exactly. The junior officer instead walked cautiously down the hall until he was sure Gheris and Ryan could no longer see him, then adopted a more hurried stride to follow Obi-Wan. Nash didn't want to appear too obvious that he was trying, in fact, to catch up with Obi-Wan rather than follow him. Nash caught a glimpse of Obi-Wan turning another corridor ahead as he entered the other end of the hall. Nash looked around carefully and turned down another access corridor to get ahead of Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan paused as Nash suddenly appeared from the dark corner at his left.

"Hey! Come here!" Nash called him in an urgent hushed tone.

Obi-Wan walked over to the corner curiously, sensing that something was amiss. Nash grabbed Obi-Wan by the fold of his jacket and hauled him into the access corridor.

"What the hell is going on?" Nash demanded in a restrained tone.

"What are you talking about?" Obi-Wan replied sincerely.

"Why are you here? You're going to screw up everything!"

"I have no idea…"

"Look! I've been among this motley crew for the last five months." Nash tried to remain as silent as possible despite his anger. "I'm this close to finding out the higher-ups in their network. Now you show up and jeopardize this?"

"I don't…" Obi-Wan suddenly realized some of what was behind Nash's words. "You're an infiltrator."

"Keep it down!" Nash looked around again to make sure no one could overhear. "That's why you're here, isn't it? I mean, you don't look like a regular Jedi, but…"

"I'm here for the exact reason I explained." Obi-Wan cut him short. "Are you with the Republic or the Trade Federation."

Nash seemed hesitant to answer at first. Eventually, he felt he could trust a Jedi. "New Republic Military." Nash explained. "My contact on Dantooine was Republic too, but he was killed mysteriously before I found him. I thought that this was why you were here?"

"I don't know anything about contacts or murders. What's this about?"

Nash looked around again. "I don't really want to say. Hell, I shouldn't have even said as much as I have, but I know you Jedi are trustworthy. Besides, if Harrik gets wise you may be my only shot at getting out of here alive!"

"I just want to get to Clenestine and then Tatooine so I can tell the Jedi Council there what happened. I don't care what's going on with this ship."

"Yeah. Your subtle hints to Harrik that you know what's going on wasn't the smartest thing in the galaxy to do either!"

"Why should he care what I do? I made it clear to him I just want to get where I'm going."

"Harrik's going to kill you the first chance he gets!"

"That would be foolish. I can take care of myself!" Obi-Wan replied calmly.

"Pretty arrogant! This is a rough bunch hiding a secret that makes them lots of money. Something that may even be damaging to a lot of influential people in this galaxy! Your being here may have created a lot more trouble than you realize!"

"I'm sorry, but I don't have time for this. I don't want to…"

Obi-Wan was cut off by a sizable quake that rocked the entire ship. The quake was immediately followed by another, causing both Obi-Wan and Nash to stumble off balance.

"Turbolasers!" Nash said, instinctively drawing his blaster pistol out of his holster.

Another heavy blast rocked the _Triple Nova_, forcing Nash to reach out for a hold with his free hand.

"What the hell is going on?!"

"This ship is under attack." Obi-Wan noted calmly.

"No kidding!" Nash said as he ran out of the darkened service corridor.

Obi-Wan raced out behind Nash, keeping a safe distance behind the junior officer to try and help curb suspicion. Nash was running down the nearby corridor towards the front of the ship. Another heavy blast threw Nash a half step to the left. Nash recovered quickly and instead ran towards the nearest call box. Marts ran out into the corridor ahead, also with his blaster drawn. The bulky Kaltoonian beat Nash to the comm.

"What's happening?! Who the hell is shooting at us?!" Nash demanded aloud.

"Looks like one light gunship." Marts replied. "I saw it race by outside my viewport!" Marts then slammed one if his large fingers into the intercom button to raise the bridge. "Anyone up there?! What's happening?"

"One fast attack vessel hit us, I think!" the voice of another male officer replied. "Can't tell! Damned thing has some kind of cloaking device! I can't tell if there are others."

"What about our defenses?!" Harrik's voice yelled into the open intercom channel.

"He hit one of our turbolasers inside its compartment on his first few shots!" the male voice replied almost frantically. "The other one's after him but it looks like he's turning in on another attack run."

"Looks like?!" Harrik yelled.

"Sir! He has a cloaking device! Fire control is doing its best to.."

"Take the damned thing off fire control and try and get him manually, you idiot!" Harrik's voice screamed.

"Syrik!" Obi-Wan realize who was attacking based on the described attack and a building feeling of dread through the force.

"You Sith friend?" Nash glanced at Obi-Wan.

"You have to jump to hyperspace now!" Obi-Wan noted seriously to Marts.

"The hyperdrive's been sketchy." Nash smirked. "That's what we've been working on."

Another pair of blasts, more intense than the last few, shook the _Nova_ and the three gathered in the hall. Gheris and Ryan were hurrying up the corridor behind.

"No way! It's just one ship!" Marts replied in disbelief.

"Sir, he got the other turbolaser." The male voice from the bridge stated nervously. "Sir.. I… I think he's maneuvering to board us!"

"It's too late." Obi-Wan said evenly, pulling the handle of his lightsaber from his belt. "It's me he wants."

"Boarding?!" Gheris hissed, drawing his own blaster from a pouch mounted at the back of his tool belt. "We'll make him sorry to set foot on the _Nova_!"

"This man will kill everyone on this ship to get to me!" Obi-Wan suddenly turned around to shout at Gheris. "Get your men back and call for help before it's too late!"

"Why, you little bas…"

Gheris' words were inaudible over the sudden blast ahead of the group, accompanied by an explosive blast from the airlock door being destroyed. Obi-Wan turned back around to see Darth Syrik enter through the smoke, with his red lightsaber ready. Every blaster in the corridor raised in an instant on the black garbed warrior.

"No! Wait!" Obi-Wan yelled to Nash, too late to stop him from firing.

Red blaster rounds screamed out through the corridor towards Syrik. Syrik's red blade moved and angled swiftly to turn the blaster rounds away. One plasma round was deflected back into Mart's arm, another into the wall beside Nash, who decided to stop shooting and seek cover. Gheris and Ryan continued firing, only to have Syrik bat back another round into Gheris' chest, killing the Sluissi instantly.

Obi-Wan's blue blade energized in the same instant. He charged Syrik, who was all too ready to meet Obi-Wan's challenge despite the chaos around them. Obi-Wan and Syrik exchanged three fast strikes. Obi-Wan ducked a flat horizontal slice and was kicked back by Syrik, who deflected another pair of blaster rounds fired by Ryan, ricocheting one back into Ryan's left leg to drop him. Obi-Wan regained his balance just as quickly and threw a hard swing up towards Syrik's face, only to be blocked by the Sith's red blade.

Syrik shoved Obi-Wan's blade back and unleashed a fury of swings at the teenage boy. Obi-Wan found himself turning and angling his blade so quickly that he nearly lost his focus, allowing Syrik's blade to come dangerously close to him several times as he was pushed back in the smoke-filled corridor. Obi-Wan leaned back from the onslaught, causing Syrik's red blade to miss his face and squelch into a pipe along the side wall of the corridor. Obi-Wan lunged back, only to have his blade cracked upward, then struck for Syrik's left shoulder, his right side, met his blade past his right leg, and traded several more energized strikes.

Syrik pushed Obi-Wan back with his blade again and stared momentarily at him.

"Not bad. A rather similar style to your parents, but there's something else there too." Syrik sneered.

"Why?" Obi-Wan took the opportunity of the pause. "Why did you kill my parents? Why kill me? I'm not just a random target for your hatred, am I?"

"You will be the first of many to die!" Syrik replied cryptically in an icy tone.

Nash appeared in the corridor just behind Syrik, raising his blaster to the back of the Sith's head. Syrik angled his red blade over his shoulder in a flash of movement to deflect the blaster round fired by Nash, turned to chop down through Nash's blaster, then brought his saber back around to block a heavy overhead strike from Obi-Wan. The two traded a number of fast swings at one another as the form of Captain Harrik appeared around the corner at the end of the corridor.

Harrik held a heavy repeating blaster rifle in his arms. Having seen the bodies of three of his crewmembers in the corridor, the captain decided to aim his powerful weapon at both Syrik and Obi-Wan as they dueled. Harrik squeezed the trigger, sending a staccato flashing stream of red plasma bolts at the duelists.

Obi-Wan and Syrik parted as they jumped for cover from the blaster volley, which impacted along the deckplates and up the wall into a minor power coupling. A small blast and a shower of energy and sparks streamed out between Jedi and Sith. Obi-Wan fell backwards with a slight injury as a blaster round grazed his right calf. Nash's instinctive reaction was to jump for the blast door controls. Two thick slats of tritanum raised up from the floor, separating Nash and Obi-Wan from the Sith and Harrik. Harrik continued training his stream of fire at the Sith, who was charging the captain on the other side of the closing blast door. Nash ran to help Obi-Wan regain his footing. Obi-Wan's blue blade still glowed in his right hand as Nash helped him up. Obi-Wan turned to look back over his shoulder beyond the closing blast door. Harrik was yelling out as he fired, unable to strike Syrik, who was blocking and evading the blaster rounds while closing on his prey. Blaster spray pinked heavily on the overlapping leaves of the blast door as they closed. The last thing Nash and Obi-Wan saw through the opening before it sealed was Syrik throwing his strength into the cut that would slice Harrik in half.

"So much for the mission." Nash spoke more to himself than Obi-Wan as he tried to lead him away. "Let's get out of here!"

"No!" Obi-Wan shook himself free of Nash's grasp. "I need to bring that Sith in!"

"Are you crazy?!" Nash shouted. "That thing nearly killed you! It'll kill both of us if we don't leave!"

"I need to find out why it came after me!"

"You need to get to the Jedi and tell them what happened!" Nash reminded Obi-Wan of the assignment charged to him by his dead father, one he promised he would keep.

Obi-Wan looked at the blast door for a moment. An orange glow appeared in the center of the door, turning into a yellowish white spot of heat. Syrik was coming after him! Obi-Wan turned away and nodded to Nash in agreement.

"Alright. Let's go." Obi-Wan said as he ran down the opposite end of the corridor with Nash.

Elsewhere in the ship in a section further away from the fighting, another airlock door was opened, only without the explosive force Syrik had used. Another being covered in a full dark brown, almost black, cloak walked in, his head covered completely by his hood.

Commander Devlin rushed into the junction ahead of the cloaked figure with another crewmember of the _Nova_. Both were armed with blaster pistols, which were quickly aimed at the cloaked figure. The brown humanoid left hand of the cloaked figure shot up towards his two attackers. Devlin's gun was yanked from his right hand by the force and into the extended palm of the cloaked figure. The man in the cloak ducked a shot fired by Devlin's subordinate, then threw Devlin's weapon back on the crewmember with incredible force into his forehead. Devlin's subordinate fell unconscious to the deck. Devlin himself rushed the cloaked figure even though he was unarmed. The cloaked figure, still walking towards Devlin, was apparently weaponless as well. Devlin threw a right cross at the hood, which the cloak pulled away from to use Devlin's inertia to throw him face-first into one of the metal bulkheads. Devlin rolled slightly on the ground, holding a bloody gash on his forehead as the cloak walked on.

"Why are we going back to the hangar bay?" Obi-Wan asked as they ran on through the ship. "My ship can't fly and we certainly can't operate the outer doors without help."

"Didn't you see Harrik's launch down there?" Nash replied. "We can open the doors remotely from his ship."

"I don't see getting off this ship as being that easy." Obi-Wan remarked evenly.

"It's the only option we got right now. I doubt the escape pods would make it to Clenestine from this distance. Besides, that guy could just jump back in his ship and shoot us like we were target practice!"

The two ran forward several more feet down one of the main central corridors of the ship. Both Nash and Obi-Wan came to a stop as another cloaked figure appeared ahead of them. Time seemed to dilate and move very slowly in that instant. Obi-Wan raised his silver and black lightsaber handle and activated its blue blade. Darth Syrik walked out into the corridor behind Obi-Wan and Nash, still holding his activated red blade out at his side. The mysterious figure ahead pulled back the hood of his cloak to reveal a brown face with long black hair and bright ruby red eyes. The figure also retrieved a lightsaber handle from the folds of his dark brown cloak, raised it to his side and activated its glowing green blade. The open folds of the figure's cloak revealed the bone colored tunic and white trousers of a Jedi's garb with dark brown boots and belt.

"Get behind me!" the dark-skinned Jedi shouted to Nash and Obi-Wan. "I'll hold him off!"

Obi-Wan was undecided and wanted to face Syrik, yet somehow he knew this Jedi would be his only way off the _Triple Nova_. He sensed a path of destiny ahead and decided to place his trust in the unfamiliar Jedi Knight. Obi-Wan made up his mind in that split-second and hurried past the Jedi with Nash, certain through mysterious insight granted to him through the force as to what to do.

The Jedi stepped forward to face off against Syrik, who stared back at the Jedi with hateful eyes.

"Darth Syrik." The Jedi called his adversary's name. "I've been looking for you for a long time. I was beginning to think you were nothing more than a myth."

"I'm pleased to disappoint you, Jedi!" Syrik replied, circling his red blade at his side before charging.

Jedi Knight and Sith met with blades in the center of the corridor in a fast, skillful exchange. The Jedi inverted his blade twice at his sides to block, missed with a high swing, traded shrieking strikes around his body, rotated his humming green blade over his right shoulder to block a pair of strikes meant for neck and spine, and threw a cluster of fast swings on Syrik. Syrik angled his red blade with equal skill in his defense, cracking the Jedi's green blade up, then slashed in a hard diagonal swing the Jedi rotated away from. The Jedi swept his humming blade under Syrik's feet, who jumped, then attacked high to Syrik's left, at his right side, blocked a pair of low swings, then had a swing from his green blade deflected. Their blades clashed in a forward and return motion in continuing their duel.

Nash ran after Obi-Wan through the ship. Obi-Wan apparently knew exactly where to go even though he had only spent a little time on the _Triple Nova_. In truth, Obi-Wan was being guided by what he could feel through the force. He knew that somehow the Jedi that had come to help him was helping to guide his escape. Obi-Wan paused for a moment in a junction filled with smoke. They were near one of the ship's turbolaser batteries that Syrik had destroyed.

"This way." Obi-Wan said with certainty as he led Nash into a passage to the left.

"How do you know?" Nash demanded, almost as a complaint. "And where are we going?"

"Trust me." Obi-Wan replied as they ran through a thin veil of smoke.

A few feet further, Obi-Wan and Nash encountered the unconscious body of one of the _Nova's_ crew. A smear of blood on the deck suggested that someone else had been involved in whatever scuffle had knocked out the junior officer.

"There." Obi-Wan pointed to an open airlock door.

Nash and Obi-Wan hurried to the airlock and passed through the boarding sleeve into the Jedi's vessel.

Syrik blocked a hard strike at his left, then another at his right. His red blade locked with the Jedi's green saber as Syrik turned the Jedi's blade down with brute strength. The Jedi suddenly released pressure on his saber, causing Syrik's blade to squelch into the deck. The Jedi chopped down for Syrik's head, but was stopped at the last moment as Syrik turned his red blade back up to block. The Jedi hacked down towards Syrik's right shoulder, blocked a low strike, then chopped down through a venting pipe. A curtain of steam jetted out of the pipe for a moment between the Jedi and Syrik before an automatic cut-off terminated the flow. The steam mist lasted only briefly enough for the Jedi to vanish, leaving Darth Syrik alone in the corridor.

Nash was already seated at the nav computer entering coordinates. Both he and Obi-Wan were rather impressed at the condition of the sleek ship. Every console looked to be brand new, or at least well kept. The main console was encased in a black composite, forming a slight point up to the framed bubble canopy at the front of the cockpit. Two sharp forward-swept wings pointed ahead of the canopy, giving the dark green vessel a fork shape. The docking collar extended from the back of the ship between its two main engines, which were rather massive for its scale.

The Jedi ran into the dark interior of the cockpit. Nash paused what he was doing as he looked back over his shoulder. Nash and Obi-Wan watched curiously as their savior sat down quickly at the pilot seat.

"What are you doing?" The Jedi asked Nash, looking back at him over his left shoulder.

"Entering jump coordinates to get us outta here!" Nash replied sharply.

"Clear them out!" the Jedi ordered sternly as he flipped a few switches hurriedly. "I have presets and already plotted a reverse solution from this point!"

"That's impossible!" Nash barked.

"Just clear it and sit back!" the Jedi argued, pulling a small silver lever at his right to close the rear hatch and retract the docking sleeve.

The Jedi pushed the main throttle in the center console forward, powering up the large squared-off thrust nozzles at the back of the ship, rocketing it forward. The green fork-shaped vessel raced away from the large rectangular mass of the _Triple Nova_ and up on a slight angle.

"Syrik will be on us quickly." The Jedi noted as he steered the vessel. "We must be fast."

"Who?" Nash asked aloud.

"Darth Syrik. The Sith that was after you." The Jedi explained as a beep resounded from his forward console. The Jedi looked at his short-range tracking screen for a moment before retuning his attention to space ahead. "That would be him."

"You weren't kidding about fast!" Nash stated, looking over the Jedi's shoulder at the blip on his tracking screen.

The _Triple Nova_ continued to grow smaller behind the Jedi's ship. Darth Syrik's Infiltrator, separated from the _Nova_, shot up after the Jedi's ship, gaining on it quickly. A set of doors at the lower sides of the Infiltrator's knife-shaped bow opened. Two missiles shot out from the openings after the Jedi's craft.

The Jedi turned on a slight left bank, acting as if there were no threat, even though his ship's sensors were alerting him to the danger.

"Those missiles are closing awful fast!" Nash noted with a growing sense of panic.

"I know." The Jedi replied calmly, straightening out his ship.

Nash paused for a moment, watching the two blips representing the missiles approaching quickly. "Aren't you going to maneuver?!"

"No." The Jedi answered calmly.

The Jedi's ship surged forward a short distance further through space. The glowing tails of the missiles were only a little over a hundred kilometers behind. Inside the cockpit of the Jedi's ship, another alarm sounded. The Jedi quickly reached out to his center console and pulled back on the hyperdrive lever. The Jedi's ship shot forward in a blur of speed into hyperspace, just a few kilometers ahead of the missiles.

The missiles flew a bit longer without a target before finally losing power. Syrik grimaced behind the controls of his ship as he turned back around, angry that he would have to renew his search.

The Jedi relaxed himself in the thin padded contoured pilot chair as the vortex of their hyperspace corridor swirled ahead of their ship. The conduit cast the dark interior of the ship in a faint shimmering bluish-white tone. They were safe, but the tension of near death was slow to wear off. Obi-Wan turned in the copilot chair to face the Jedi. Nash moved to the chair opposite of the one he was in behind Obi-Wan to get a better look at the Jedi as well. The Jedi shut his eyes for a moment in a relaxation exercise.

"You're Ankarian." Nash observed of the Jedi.

The Jedi opened his eyes to again reveal his bright red irises, which contrasted his dark brown skin and long straight black hair in an almost mystical way. The faint lines around the Jedi's eyes and on his face suggested a humanoid male in his middle thirties.

"Is that so odd?" the Jedi asked Nash.

"No. It's just I've never met an Ankarian before." Nash answered.

"Most tend to stay on our homeworld." The Jedi replied. "My name is Ayvan Ezen. Jedi Knight of the Ezen Order." Ayvan extended his hand to shake Obi-Wan's and Nash's.

"The Ezen Order?" Nash asked curiously.

"One of the triumvirate." Obi-Wan explained.

"You seem to know a lot about the Jedi," Ayvan looked at the lightsaber on Obi-Wan's belt, "mister…."

"Obi-Wan Shai."

"Shai?" Ayvan turned his eyes up in thought. "I've never heard that name before. And I don't recall seeing or hearing mention of you. Who's your master?"

"I have no master. My parents were Arik and Laura Shai." Obi-Wan responded with a sad tone, turning his eyes down to the deck of the cockpit for a moment. "My parents were killed by that… by Darth Syrik at our home on Umaru."

"Arik and Laura Shai?" the names suddenly sounded familiar to Ayvan. His red eyes widened; his sense of shock unconcealed. "Arik and Laura Rykane?"

"My parents were once of the Rykane Order, yes." Obi-Wan explained.

"Your father was a Rykane himself." Ayvan corrected him. "They left the order twenty years ago."

"Just prior to my birth." Obi-Wan completed that part of his history, looking at Ayvan with some surprise. "How do you know so much about me?"

"Because we are kin." Ayvan stated. "Third cousins at least, but related nonetheless."

"Small universe." Nash smirked.

"And who are you?" Ayvan asked Nash.

"Lieutenant Nash Corino. Republic Intelligence. I was undercover in that crew to try and nab Harrik and his men when you Jedi came and stole the show."

"I was picked up by that ship and its crew after drifting in space for several days." Obi-Wan remembered his promise. "I must get to Tatooine to inform the Jedi council of what happened to my parents and of this Darth Syrik."

"Well, we're on our way to the Bestine system back to the temple of my order." Ayvan replied, glancing at the conduit of hyperspace beyond the transparisteel canopy. "It'll do just as well. Besides, we already had some idea of Syrik's existence. We think he may have killed two Jedi already, aside from your parents. I've been tracking him for over a month now with little success, until now."

Obi-Wan thought of what Ayvan had said, feeling a bit odd about going to Bestine. "I promised my father that I'd go to Tatooine."

"The Jedi Councils of the triumvirate are all one." Ayvan gave Obi-Wan a comforting grin. "What one knows, all know."

Ayvan's words set Obi-Wan at ease. Obi-Wan sat back in his chair, again a little overwhelmed by recent experiences.

"You haven't been away from your home planet much, have you Obi-Wan?" Ayvan looked at the teenager.

"No." Obi-Wan answered in a tired voice.

"I thought as much." Ayvan smiled at him again. "You were never apprenticed as a Padawan. You've done very well considering the circumstances. Don't worry." Ayvan patted Obi-Wan on his knee. "All will be explained once we get to Bestine. What matters now is that you're safe."

Ayvan stood up and moved towards the cockpit exit.

"Where are you going?" Nash asked curiously.

"To my small stateroom for some rest." Ayvan gestured to the short hall outside the cockpit exit. "I haven't slept in two days and it's taken its toll, even with the force as my ally. Those chairs recline or there's a small lounge in the back. I'd encourage you both to get some rest as well. We're about eleven hours out of Bestine."

"Thank you Master Ezen." Obi-Wan replied gratefully.

Ayvan smiled again on the two of them and exited the cockpit.

Nash watched Ayvan leave and waited until he was out of earshot to speak. "A proper host would have offered one of us his rack."

"He saved our lives." Obi-Wan noted, reclining his chair back to sleep. "That's enough for me. We should both be grateful we're still alive."

"Grateful?" Nash responded a bit abrasively. "I was doing okay on the _Nova_ until you guys and the man in black showed up on the ship." Nash looked forward into the corridor of hyperspace for a moment, thinking of his next move. He really didn't want to be where he was, nor had he planned for it. "I don't know. I…"

Nash turned around as he spoke only to find Obi-Wan already asleep in his chair. For a moment, Nash wasn't sure if Obi-Wan was really asleep. He had never seen anyone drift off so quickly, even the military personnel.

"Damn." Nash breathed, realizing that Obi-Wan was asleep and that he himself was probably one of the only people on the ship who wasn't.

Commander Devlin came to his senses several minutes after Syrik's departure. He staggered down a corridor, ankle deep in a fog mist of coolant. A hanging power line ahead of him sparked against a nearby bulkhead frame as it swayed slightly. Devlin walked to the severed cables junction box and shunted the power. He could see the faint outline of a body before him veiled by the mist. Kneeling down, he turned over the body to see it was Ryan, killed by blaster wounds.

There was a slight sway to the _Nova_ as she limped on through space towards the lone Clenestine sun. The sway was evident beneath Devlin's feet, likely caused by power failing to one of the inertial stabilizers. The sway, like that of a seafaring vessel, would be a minor annoyance until the stabilizer could be fixed.

Thus far, Devlin had yet to find Captain Harrik, Nash, Gheris, or any other living being on the ship. He continued forward through the ship passages until he froze at a sight ahead.

Captain Harrik, cleaved cleanly in half at his midsection, lay in two pieces a short distance away from each other. The heavy repeating blaster rifle Harrik had carried lay in several pieces near his upper torso, which rested with its back against the lower section of the angled wall of the corridor. Devlin kneeled down next to the body of his Captain to look to his dead open eyes. The sight of Harrik nearly made Devlin throw up.

Devlin stood up and turned around, looking in the direction Harrik's dead eyes were looking. Behind him stood the closed blast doors with a gaping melted hole in its center. Heat continued to radiate from the melted steel. The corridor on the other side of the hole was visible through the slight caloric waves of heat. Devlin saw Gheris's body through the hole on the other side.

Devlin stood in near shock. He wondered if he had been the only survivor on the ship. Though he desperately wanted to, he knew he could not call for help. He could not risk rescue ship personnel happening on the cargo in the _Nova's_ hold, particularly if the rescuers were Trade Federation. Devlin knew he would have to land the _Nova_ on Clenestine, alone if necessary, before taking the risk in asking for aide. He was now Captain of the _Triple Nova_; Captain of a ship now filled with the ghosts of the dead.

Ayvan's ship, the _Ward_, entered Bestine's atmosphere on the daylight side of the planet, turning down through the sky towards one of its large southern continents. After flying over a broad snowcapped mountain range, the _Ward_ flew on over a rolling series of green hills. A large city loomed ahead on the horizon at the base of another mountain chain, stretched out along a broad peninsula where a sizeable river let out to the sea. Starship traffic in the surrounding blue sky grew heavier the closer they got to the city. A good portion of inbound traffic came in over the ocean. The _Ward_ flew over the ridge of the wide mountain chain beyond the outskirts of the city of Bennit Val, then banked in on approach. The towers of Bennit Val ranged in various geometric shapes. Many smaller rectangular towers framed the city, growing to massive size near the center of the metropolis. The city below was organized in a gigantic group of concentric rings, each ring divided by an irrigation system cut into the dense grey bedrock. The flowing freshwater canals flowed with waters diverted from the river. Airspeeders and starships of various sizes flew mostly in five organized lanes over Bennit Val, with ships veering off and arising from numerous parts of the city.

Cylindrical grey towers, some fairly narrow, were among the tallest in the city and gathered mostly towards the center of the city. A gigantic tiered building, rising over two thousand feet above the ground, stood at one end of the city's central circle, at the end of a kilometer-long landscaped plaza. It was the government tower, the largest building with a needle-shaped spire adding another three hundred feet to the structure. Ayvan maneuvered the _Ward_ on a slow pass of the government tower in the traffic lane on his way to another ornamental tower in one of the rear quadrants of the city.

The Jedi Temple was several hundred feet smaller than the government tower, located on the ring surrounding the city center to the rear left of the taller government building. Five intersecting cylinders surrounded the base of the main spire, tiered to different heights in a non-symetrical manner. The spire of the tower was a thinner version of the cylinder tiers, tapering up to the main temple. Four large outcrops were set evenly around the gilled conical temple at the top of the tower. The outcrops were cut and designed in a neogothic manner to somewhat resemble an inverted talon, with sharp claws curved up to the sky. Ayvan turned the _Ward_ down to one of the larger cylinder tiers at the base of the main tower. The largest tier was ringed with broad hangar doors, some of which were open. Ayvan slowly guided his ship towards one of the open hangar bays, allowing an automated tractor beam system to guide him in.

The circular council chamber was dark. A ring of faint amber orb lights around the sides of the large chamber lit the perimeter so that the walls were just barely visible. The center of the room appeared darker except for a bright white spotlight that illuminated the raised center of the hall. The central column of white light was powerful enough that seeing outside of it was difficult.

Drake Ezen stood on the elevated circular stone stage of the theater-like hall. Drake, Ayvan's father with a definitive familiar resemblance, wore the traditional robes of a Jedi Master. His long black hair was pulled back behind his head. His serious aged eyes looked about the chamber calmly.

Behind Drake was a white humanoid male with short stone white hair. He wore the typical tunic and garb of a Jedi Knight. Nyoth Rok, as he was called, stood with his arms folded over his chest as he stood further back in the shadows.

Three other Jedi were present as holograms in the room.

Master Dane Ordos represented the Rykane Order. The Rykane Grandmaster was a bit more fashionable, as he wore a more angular cut of Jedi robes with an intricate blue and white trim pattern. His long hair was secured behind his head with ebony sticks. His pale features were narrower. His crisp blue eyes looked out as his full-scale hologram gazed at the other Jedi Masters in attendance.

A separate hologram of an aged woman in a worn yet ornate crimson and tan robe stood to Drake's right. Her white hair was pulled back in a bun. Her aged face bore many lines of rough weather and wizened experience.

Behind her in the holomatrix stood a much younger woman with fair skin and flowing reddish brown hair. She had a similar protective stance towards her master as Nyoth Rok; observant yet studious in expression.

"If this is the same dark being we've heard about this may be something requiring more proactive measures." The hologram of the aged female Master Victoria Skywalker spoke.

"This is a matter we should handle internally." Dane Ordos' hologram spoke. "If word of this breaks there could be panic in the Republic."

"This Sith killed almost the entire crew of a merchant shipping vessel." Drake replied evenly. "I doubt news of this will remain contained for long. If the senate believes us to be withholding information from them…."

"The last crisis was handled among ourselves." Victoria noted, detached of emotion.

All eyes in the room looked to her. Lady Skywalker seemed to elicit a deep respect from the others. Visibly, she seemed a woman tempered by experience. Even as a hologram she seemed to radiate leadership. The others in the room naturally extended respect to her – as their Jedi matriarch.

At that moment a door slid open at the back of the chamber, framed in a bright rectangle of light from the outer corridor. Three humanoids walked into the circular hall allowing the door to slide shut behind them. The Jedi in the room, real and hologram, watched as Ayvan Ezen led Obi-wan and Nash towards the edge of the raised stage.

"Welcome home my son." Drake greeted Ayvan.

"Father." Ayvan nodded to his father and head of his order, then towards the other Jedi Masters. "Esteemed Jedi Masters."

"You bring news of this new dark Jedi and the survivor, Obi-wan Shai?" Drake noted aloud.

"Yes, Master." Ayvan replied.

"Please come stand before us, young Obi-wan." Victoria Skywalker spoke.

Obi-wan slowly and carefully walked past his comrades, stepping up into the light. He took a few steps into the raised stone circular stage so they could all look at him.

Victoria stared at him for a while. She couldn't help but turn a slight smile. "By the fates, you look so much like your mother."

Obi-wan offered no response. Clearly his mind was of mixed emotions. The memory of his parents' death was still all too recent and painful.

"I'm sorry." Victoria gathered herself. "This must all be very trying for you. Your mother was a remarkable woman. Your father as well."

"Thank you…" Obi-wan mustered words.

"I am Victoria Skywalker. Your mother was my neice. I am your great-aunt."

"I am honored to meet you, Lady Skywalker." Obi-wan nodded respectfully.

"And your father was Arik Rykane." Dane Ordos added. "He was of our order. He too was a great Jedi and a well-respected man. We are truly sorry for your loss."

"Thank you." Obi-wan replied simply, not sure of what else to say.

"Do you know why your parents left the Jedi Order, Obi-wan?" Drake asked. "Did they ever explain to you what happened?"

"My parents spoke of the Order rarely." Obi-wan answered. "I know something they didn't like happened and that they left. They spoke of you at times, usually among themselves but I caught a few things at times when they thought I wasn't listening. There was some kind of disagreement and they chose to leave just before I was born."

"Yet they trained you in the ways of the force." Ordos spoke. "Surely there is something of our heritage they passed on?"

"They trained me hard. That's certain." Obi-wan answered. "I think somehow they knew this day would come and they wanted to prepare me as best they could so I could defend myself. They taught me the Jedi Code, but the values that they had as people superseded all of that."

"Before you were born there was an incident within the Orders." Victoria explained. "A Jedi, impatient with the way change was progressing throughout the galaxy, took it upon himself to implement order among certain warring factions. While his efforts were met with positive results his temptation to use the force for expedience led him down a dark path. Expedience led to self-indulgence. Self-indulgence led to the desire for more power. In the end he corrupted not only himself but two other Jedi into turning towards the dark side of the force."

"I never heard of this." Obi-wan noted.

"Not many have." Drake stated. "It's something the Jedi do not wish to be known broadly. The matter was attended to before any major harm could befall the innocents of the galaxy."

"How was it handled?" Obi-wan pressed.

"The dark Jedi and his two disciples were killed." Drake answered. "It wasn't an easy thing for us to do as these fallen Jedi were once friends. They were family."

"Their leader was my brother, Darius Skywalker." Victoria noted evenly. "Your mother's father and your grandfather. And I killed him – with my own hand. With my own lightsaber."

The words hung in silence in the chamber for a moment. All of the true Jedi in the chamber knew the story but to hear her tell it, to hear her admit to vanquishing her own brother, was somewhat chilling.

"I am certain you've heard the story of Darth Vader, our common ancestor?" Victoria continued.

"I am well versed in the story." Obi-wan nodded. "My parents preached it as a cautionary tale religiously in my childhood and during my training."

"Anakin Skywalker and his dark master, Sheev Palpatine, were responsible for millions upon millions of deaths and nearly brought about the extinction of the Jedi." Victoria explained. "Order Sixty Six, the Verulain Massace, the destruction of Alderaan. Those are dark days that we have all vowed to never allow again. No matter the cost. No matter the sacrifice – the evil of the Sith shall not be allowed to rise again."

"Which brings us to the issues at hand." Drake continued. "This dark Jedi you encountered. We believe he's killed two other Jedi in the recent past but we're not sure of where he came from."

"You both faced him?" Victoria asked, looking at Ayvan and Obi-wan.

"Yes." Ayvan answered for both of them. "He's very powerful!"

"At your skill level - you couldn't best him?" Ordos asked Ayvan directly with some surprise.

"It wasn't for lack of trying." Ayvan stated.

"He killed both of my parents in fairly quick succession." Obi-wan added. "And I always thought of them as very powerful Jedi."

"They were." Victoria confirmed. "Is there anything you might have noticed about Syrik? Anything that might help us determine who he is?"

"Well… it might sound strange…." Obi-wan spoke cautiously, "… but I think my father might have known who he was."

Again the senior Jedi in the chamber looked at one another quietly.

"What makes you say that?" Victoria asked.

"As I was firing up our starship to escape I could see him outside the window." Obi-wan explained. "It looked as though he and my father had a brief discussion before they fought. And also…." Obi-wan hesitated. "He hated them. I know the Sith draw strength from fear and hate but I got the sense that he hated my parents… on a personal level."

"Was this Sith someone your parents might have trained in the force?" Ordos asked. "Did they teach anyone else that you know of?"

"No." Obi-wan replied sternly. "No. I was the only one they trained."

"Are you certain of this?" Victoria pressed.

"Yes, I'm absolutely certain."

"Listen to me, young Obi-wan. This is of vital importance." Victoria continued with a dead serious calm. "Did you ever see either of your parents express any inclination towards the dark side of the force?"

Obi-wan stared at Victoria's hologram for a moment.

"No. My parents were loving, caring people." He protested. "Never! No!"

Victoria seemed ready to push further in her questioning but instead elected to remain silent. What was done was done. Arik and Laura Rykane were dead. The Jedi would arrive at the truth of things regardless.

"Your parents chose an interesting name for you." Victoria noted in a calmer tone. "I'm assuming you know the story of your namesake?"

"Master Kenobi? Yes, of course." Obi-wan replied. "They took great pride in explaining why they chose the name. They told me it was because he was a true Jedi Knight. He was unwavering, unselfish, wise and compassionate. True to the code – even in exile."

"They hoped then that by giving you this name that they could inspire you down this same path?" Victoria pressed.

"I believe so, yes. They had a great respect for Obi-wan Kenobi." His namesake noted.

"Indeed, if it weren't for Master Kenobi and his entwined fate with the Skywalker children none of what you see here today would exist." Victoria said. "Without Master Kenobi and Master Yoda the Jedi would be extinct today. We exist because Master Kenobi carried our traditions into the wilderness. When the Jedi were destroyed and the temple was overtaken by Sidious THEY were all that remained of us."

"My mother felt much the same way. She used to tell me something similar to what you told me." Obi-wan Shai stated. "But while I appreciate Master Kenobi there is one thing I do understand beyond that."

"What is that?" Drake Ezen asked.

"That I am not Obi-wan Kenobi."

The Jedi Masters remained silent for a moment. The hologram of the female Jedi standing behind Victoria seemed to take some interest in what Obi-wan had said.

"Indeed you are your own man." Victoria noted.

"This does bring us to another matter." Master Ordos looked at the other Masters. "What do we do with young Obi-wan here?"

"What do you mean?" Obi-wan asked, curious as to what they meant by the rather harsh statement.

"From what Ayvan tells us you have all the skills of a fully-trained Jedi, yet you were not brought up in the Order." Drake Ezen stated calmly. "You understand that while we do accept that you have free will like any sentient being in the galaxy, that your skills present a danger if they were misused. You were never apprenticed properly. Never made a Padawan. As such I'm not sure we can accept you fully into the Order."

Obi-wan looked silently at all of the Jedi in the room.

"This is assuming I want to join the Order?" Obi-wan noted. "I am truly grateful to Ayvan for coming to our aide." Obi-wan turned briefly to look at the younger Ezen before looking back up at the Jedi Masters. "I honestly believe we would not have survived without him. But I'm not sure what I want to do now. My parents were just killed. I'm really at a loss of… what to do now…."

"Please don't see what we're saying as disrespect." Victoria stated with more empathy. "You are family and have a welcome place among us. Your presence will, however, create uneasiness among the Jedi, especially given the history of what my brother had done."

"Perhaps we should focus more on what to do about this Darth Syrik." Dane Ordos stated, possibly also as a means to simply change the subject.

"Syrik is the immediate threat." Ayvan noted seriously. "We cannot afford to wait to act on him."

"We understand this Master Ezen." Ordos noted. "The question is who is he really and where do we find him?"

"And are there others?" Lady Skywalker pressed.

"If I may I think we should find the _Triple Nova_ and investigate there further." Obi-wan stated. "We may be able to find clues there. They're probably near Clenestine if they stayed on course."

"Provided they didn't report the incident to the Trade Federation." Ayvan observed.

"They wouldn't." Nash interjected. "They're smuggling something big. Probably weapons. And it's for a big client. Whoever's left is still on the way to the delivery point."

"And you are?" Ordos asked Nash.

"Nash Corrino. I work for Republic Intelligence."

"He's okay. I can vouch for him." Ayvan added.

"Looking into this illicit shipment falls under the jurisdiction of the Jedi anyway. Perhaps if anything good comes of it it would be stopping this smuggling operation." Drake noted.

"There is one thing we do have going for us." Obi-wan stated.

"What is that, young Obi-wan?" Orods aksed.

"Darth Syrik still wants me dead." He explained. "If Ayvan and Nash were to accompany me to Clenestine it might draw him out."

"That is a grave risk, Obi-wan." Lady Skywalker warned.

"With all due respect it's my risk to take."

"As we said, you have not been apprenticed as a Padawan. You do not know how to act as a Jedi." Ordos warned. "If innocents are hurt in this endeavor…"

"I can be responsible for him in that regard." Ayvan stated.

"Perhaps he can be your apprentice then?" Victoria noted to Ayvan, more as a jibe from her tone.

"Perhaps." Ayvan replied flatly.

"We will need time to discuss this." Drake Ezen addressed Obi-wan, Ayvan, and Nash. "Perhaps you can take Obi-wan and Nash downstairs to get a meal and show them some of our hospitality while we decide a course of action."

Obi-wan remained silent for a moment, eventually bowing. "Thank you Masters. That's much appreciated."

Ayvan and Nash bowed as well as they walked away.

Darth Syrik searched the Clenestine system in futility to try and regain Obi-Wan's trail. He knew that the _Ward_ had flow out in hyperspace towards the Bestine system, and was tempted to plot a pursuit course. Still, he knew Obi-Wan or another Jedi would likely go to Clenestine to investigate the incident on the _Triple Nova_. He would await him there and fight on ground less favorable to the Jedi. Before Syrik could fly on to Clenestine, however, he was called to rendezvous with his master in a nearby sector of space.

He flew his Infiltrator on through empty space just below cruising speed to a secret set of coordinates. He didn't have to stare out at the stars for long before a large silver and white cruiser slowed quickly from hyperspace ahead to his left. Syrik turned his fighter towards the long cruiser. The ship had an elongated angular form, with a sharp rise on its nose where the bridge was set. A wraparound series of transparisteel viewports surrounded the dimly lit bridge. The ship had all of its running lights off, making its brushed silver and white surface appear to be a cold grey.

Syrik flew his Infiltrator towards an open hangar bay in the cruiser's side. Within moments he was inside the cold, seemingly unmanned interior of the hangar bay. He exited his Infiltratro through its rear ramp. It was a short walk from there to a nearby turbolift. Syrik, with his black cape flowing behind him, entered the lift to ascend to the top level.

The turbolift stopped a few moments later. The lift doors parted ahead of him, opening to a long dark chamber. The raised grey metal deck extended several feet ahead of the lift doors, parting into two very short stairways leading to the lower floor. The stairs enclosed a deactivated workstation, lit only faintly in a fluorescent blue outline. Long windows sloped slightly upward along the walls, offering an impressive view of space. Several narrow podium shaped devices stood along the windows, some actively displaying holographic charts of certain regions of the galaxy. The entire chamber appeared to be some sort of observatory or modified cartography suite.

A dark figure sat in what looked like a throne in the shadows at the far wall of the observatory. Two thin black statues flanked either side of the throne, staring out with blank dark eye lenses set in angular black masks. The plated black arms and legs of the black metallic statues seemed too thin to be a humanoid. They appeared more droid-like, with their angular masks and broad rimmed helmets bearing a slight resemblance to a Sith Knight of old. A silver cylinder remained clasped in the right hand of each statue; deactivated lightsabers. The figure in the chair wore black robes. The barely visible outline of a demonic face stared out from behind the hood of the cloak, its eyes merely black voids of shadow.

Syrik walked to the center of the chamber before the cloaked figure and kneeled, lowering his head obediently. The two statues turned their heads to look down on Syrik, but otherwise remained perfectly still in their guard position.

"What is thy bidding my master?" Syrik asked gravely.

"You have killed Arik and Laura Shai." The robed masked figure stood up, standing to nearly seven feet in height. The black cloak walked down towards Syrik; its empty black eye sockets staring down on the Sith. "Yet you still have yet to destroy the child."

"He was rescued by a Jedi Knight." Syrik explained, his eyes still cast down. "The crew of the ship I found him on interfered before I could finish him. He will not endure much longer, Lord Edos. I will find him and kill him!"

"I'm sure you will." Edos' deep voice replied in the manner of a proud instructor. "Arik Shai was a powerful Jedi, as was his wife. Do the Jedi know of our plans?"

"It is impossible that they do, Lord." Syrik answered. "Obi-Wan Shai even knows nothing. He wanders like a fool through the galaxy."

"Still, his presence could force our hand." Edos noted coldly. "We have already taken a great risk in exposing you to the universe. The Jedi no doubt will not rest until they uncover the truth."

"With respect, Lord, they cannot. As I said, Shai does not even know enough to be a danger."

"You underestimate the Jedi, my apprentice." Edos paced a few steps to his left, looking out to the starboard window to space. Edos' eyes, a shining metallic gold with dark slit irises like that of a snake, reflected faintly in the transparisteel glass. "They are cunning and numerous. They have even divided their Order to protect themselves from the dark side of the force."

"They still lack the ability to see us." Syrik replied. "We have also spent the centuries strengthening ourselves. I am but one and I am all they know of."

"You are brash, Lord Syrik." Edos looked on him again. "Though I agree that we are ready for the coming conflict, some of the others may not agree."

"Obi-Wan shall die and it will be by my hand." Syrik stated with certainty. "We will be able to return to the shadows, leaving the Jedi cowering in fear once more."

"I sense you may not be satisfied with Obi-Wan Shai's death alone." Edos' empty eyes, shadows again, looked down on Syrik. "You desire more Jedi blood."

"Yes," Syrik admitted, "but I will also be satisfied in the Jedi knowing they are no longer safe. That they will fear the unknown once more. That they will once again fear… the dark."

Edos walked calmly back to his throne, adjusting his cloak in a humanoid manner prior to sitting down. His hands were greyish green and clawed with four fingers on each hand, similar to a Transdoshan only larger. Edos then stared out at Syrik for a moment, silently thinking behind the shadow veil of his cloak.

"Very well." Edos spoke. "You may complete the vendetta and destroy young Obi-Wan Shai, yet be aware that there will be consequences should you fail."

"I will not fail, my master!" Syrik responded in a chilled serious tone.

Edos remained silent for a moment, thinking within the darkness of the hood of his cloak.

"The Jedi cannot be allowed to succeed." Edos noted calmly. His reptilian hand waved forward in a sight pointing gesture at Syrik. The two black droids standing guard next to him walked forward towards Syrik in silent mechanical obedience. "You will take these two drones with you. They will help you vanquish any Jedi that opposes you in this task. We will set the trap and kill them all."

"With respect master, I do not need these machines." Syrik protested calmly.

"You will do as I say, Lord Syrik." Edos responded in a cold baritone. "Go. Let

no one stand in your way."

Syrik rose to his feet and bowed to his master. With the Sith drones at his side

Syrik left the chamber the way he had entered.

Ayvan and Nash entered the modest quarters the council had provided Obi-Wan. The room contained a small living area, with a couch along the wall at the right with a holotable in front of it. An open area on the opposite wall allowed room for a small bed that could fold down from the wall. A passage just near the open balcony led to a small bathroom. The transparisteel barrier to the balcony was raised, allowing a cool evening breeze to pass through the room.

Ayvan and Nash found Obi-Wan outside on the balcony, sitting cross legged on a stone bench that ran along the waist-high balcony wall. Obi-Wan, dressed in fresh white Jedi garb, sat in deep meditation with his hands resting on his knees. Ayvan paused just in front of Obi-Wan to raise his right palm and shut his eyes.

"What are you doing?" Nash asked, breaking Ayvan's concentration.

"Letting my presence be known." Ayvan explained politely. Ayvan shut his eyes again and reached out momentarily through the force.

Obi-Wan opened his eyes, rising from his meditation. His eyes blinked a few times, then looked towards Nash and Ayvan.

"Meditation?" Ayvan asked Obi-Wan.

"Trying to see what the force tells me in all of this." Obi-Wan replied, allowing his lower legs to drop so that he was in a more natural sitting position on the cement bench. "Has the council decided what to do with me?"

Ayvan stared at Obi-Wan briefly before answering. "Not yet. There's… politics involved." Ayvan took a deep breath, as if he were trying to ease his thoughts.

"So, the Jedi have the same problems as the rest of us?" Nash smirked, turning to look at Ayvan.

"The situation is… complicated." Ayvan replied.

"You mean because of my parents?" Obi-Wan asked frankly.

"And your grandfather, yes." Ayvan remained honest.

"Master Skywalker is worried I'll turn out like Darius." Obi-wan observed aloud. "She thinks I may be a threat from within – potentially."

"I can't speak for Victoria Skywalker." Ayvan noted plainly. "It's not my place to dispute my masters or the council. I don't think she thinks of you as a danger, though. She does truly care for you as family, Obi-wan."

The two remained silent for a moment. Nash couldn't understand what was happening exactly between Obi-Wan and the Jedi Order.

"Maybe the Jedi of the Old Republic were right…" Obi-Wan spoke, pausing to gather his thoughts, "… I wonder if we wouldn't do better going back to the ways of not having families or attachments."

Ayvan didn't answer immediately. Nash looked back and forth at Obi-Wan and Ayvan, unsure of what to say. "You Jedi are uptight. How can people not have relationships?"

"Those are the old ways." Ayvan noted indirectly to Obi-Wan while turning a cynical smirk at Nash. "It doesn't make a difference anyway. Beings form attachments regardless of the rules, as Mister Corino points out. The new order believes family strengthens a Jedi's moral compass."

"That's not always true, either." Nash grunted. "I've met some pretty horrible families."

Ayvan looked out at the city beyond the balcony.

"It's nice out here. They gave you a nice view." Ayvan walked to the balcony wall to lean forward on it as he gazed out to the mountains and the distant sea. "In a few months, there'll be a regular evening fog roll of the mountains towards the shore. Sumar and Glaneia will be staggered in the sky just above." Ayvan noted the two moons of Bestine.

"This is a very nice planet." Obi-Wan responded.

"Are we going to Clenestine then? To deal with the _Triple Nova_?" Nash pressed.

"That's probable." Ayvan answered. "At a minimum I will be going."

"I want to help!" Obi-wan pleaded.

"You sure about that Obi-wan?" Nash looked at him. "It sounds like they want to use you as bait."

"Syrik is coming after me no matter what." Obi-wan replied. "I can feel it. He can too." He pointed at Ayvan.

Nash looked at the older Jedi Knight, his expression one of questioning.

"Obi-wan speaks the truth." Ayvan offered in answer.

"Time is short too. Whatever is happening on the _Triple Nova_ needs to be understood before it's too late." Obi-wan added.

"This is true." Nash confirmed. "If we're going to go it better be soon."

"What is it that they're hauling?" Ayvan looked to Nash.

"I think it's weapons of some sort." Nash replied. "I could never get time alone in the deep holds long enough to confirm."

"Clenestine is a half day's journey at best via hyperspace." Obi-wan added.

"I'm sure the council will arrive at a decision soon." Ayvan noted, turning to look at the city beyond the open balcony.

Drake Ezen stood quietly in the garden of the Jedi Temple. It was a spot he often enjoyed visiting, especially in times when difficult matters were on his mind. The garden offered a reference of peace, of a place that was free of the evil of the world. The garden was the universe, as Drake envisioned, as it was intended to be, without the presence of sentient beings to bring ruin to paradise. Without shadowy serpents hiding among the verge. A towering vine covered in red broadleaf camber flowers reached up one of the nearby concrete arches. A gentle waterfall of a crystal-clear stream flowed nearby. The short green grass was lush yet persevered despite being under boot heels. Disrupting the illusion of nature was a broad curved transparisteel window out to the city and the distant mountain horizon beyond.

The white haired humanoid Therien, Nyoth Rok, walked into the garden. He had a dark grey and brown tunic and garb with brown leather boots. He seemed younger than most of his fellow Jedi on the council and walked with a bit of a warrior's gate.

"Master Ezen." Nyoth greeted Drake with a friend's tone. "I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"You're not." Drake replied. "Your reasons for being here are somewhat transparent though, Nyoth."

"I come down here to get your real opinion of the boy." Nyoth noted.

"I expressed my true feelings in the council chambers." Drake replied.

"But that's not all of it is it, old friend?" Nyoth paced, looking away from Drake as he walked.

"No, you're right." Drake said, his ruby red eyes directed at the tranquility of the stream ahead.

"The Shai's were powerful. And that Sith dealt with them quickly and in succession." Nyoth noted grimly.

"The Shai's were family, Rok. Show some respect."

"I meant no disrespect, Drake." Nyoth turned to look at his old friend. "But you could feel how powerful that boy is, couldn't you? He's a convergence of the three great bloodlines. The Skywalker, the Ezen, the Rykane – all of their blood flows through his veins."

"I'm not a party to any silly prophecies, Nyoth." Drake countered. "There is none here. He's simply another boy attuned to the force like any other Jedi."

"Or Sith. Or the Knights of Ren. Or the Ashla or the Bogan or the …."

"Yes, I know our history, Nyoth!" Drake interrupted him. The Jedi Master turned to walk a few paces. "Did you come here to brow beat me and tell me how dangerous this boy is?"

"Oh, you don't need me to tell you that." Nyoth replied. "I don't think he's dangerous though."

"No?" Drake was a bit surprised, turning to look at his friend.

"You know that too." Nyoth grinned. "His parents did a good job instructing him, not only to use his powers but to use them responsibly… and to control his emotions."

"So, what is this then? Are you petitioning for him to join our order?" Drake asked.

Nyoth let out an even breath. "I'm here to advise if you require it. I know this is a tough decision. One doesn't need the force to understand that."

"We can't let him back out into the universe. Not alone." Drake verbalized his thoughts. "But he can't stay here. He hasn't been fully trained in our ways, not as a Padawan apprentice anyway. He can't legitimately go forth and bring peace and justice to the galaxy. He's not a Jedi – and he's too old to become one now."

"We can't restrain him here against his will, Drake." Nyoth noted. "But to send him out into the wild… with that kind of power. He will no doubt have an influence on whatever beings he encounters. Also, I think he's a bit headstrong. He could use a few years serving as an apprentice under a good master."

"It's too late for that." Drake protested. "He's too old. Too far beyond the impressionable stage of adolescence."

Nyoth looked out to the mountain peaks beyond the transparisteel window at the edge of the garden. It was still mid-afternoon. The sky was a crisp blue with white clouds.

"We're really caught between two difficult spots, Nyoth." Drake continued.

Nyoth gave the matter more thought. "Arik and Laura gave him an interesting name." Nyoth grinned. "You know the story of Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, yes?"

"Seriously, Nyoth! You test my patience." Drake shook his head. "Of course I know that story."

"The Jedi Council then refused to teach Anakin Skywalker when he was brought before them," Nyoth explained, "so Obi-wan Kenobi's master at the time, Qui-gon Jinn, elected to teach him in an unofficial sense."

"Qui-gon Jinn subverted the process." Drake countered. "His stubbornness nearly spelled extinction for the Jedi."

"Can you honestly say that with certainty?" Nyoth replied. "Anakin Skywalker met resistance throughout his journey as a Jedi. Resistance from within. We're taught that the right answer was to expel him but consider the alternative. What if the right choice was accepting him? What if the Jedi had dealt with Anakin Skywalker with more understanding and acceptance? The same might be true for Obi-wan."

Drake sat still, giving Nyoth's words some thought.

"He is no Jedi, Nyoth!" Drake argued.

"Yes, but he can't be un-taught what he already knows." Nyoth explained. "Perhaps someone capable to watch over him may help in seeing he follows the proper path." Nyoth was hesitant to add the rest of his thought. "And if not…"

"If not the means to ending him isn't far from hand." Drake noted. "You would have me assign him both a teacher and an executioner in one person?"

"I would hope it would never come to that." Nyoth added.

Drake, giving the matter some thought, turned his red eyes silently at Nyoth Rok.

The wind picked up over the white towered city of New Alderaa. The white city was an exact copy of a city of the same name destroyed centuries ago. The planet of New Alderaan itself was also quite similar to the planet destroyed by the Empire over three hundred years earlier. Lush green fields extended far and away from the city beyond its surrounding dark blue lake. An elongated white metal airship floated slowly by overhead; an artificial cloud beneath a stretched field of real stratus high above.

A middle-aged man in a finely tailored blue suit leaned against a white wall at the edge of a raised plaza, overlooking an open terrace below filled with the peaceful citizens of New Alderaa and numerous offworld visitors. The man's long grey hair was pulled back in a ponytail behind his neck. A fashionable pair of dark tinted lenses covered his eyes. A small tuft of grey hair covered the man's chin beneath a tranquil smile.

A slightly younger humanoid male hurried through the crowds in the plaza. His thin frame moved quickly beneath a full-length maroon jacket, a light tan silk shirt, and a pair of dark grey trousers, with brown leather boots. The man had the look of a rich human dressing somewhat down on purpose.

"Mister Redsun." The younger man moved to greet the man at the wall.

Minos Redsun pulled himself away from the sight of several beautiful girls below to face the man.

"Tell me, what's so important to drag me away from my office to meet you?" the younger man asked, leaning casually against the wall.

Redsun stared at the younger man, Senator Junn Graff, with a curious smirk.

"There's a problem in the outer rim." Redsun said flatly, looking out again to the lightly robed young girls.

"What kind of problem?" Graff asked, restraining his worry. "Is it that Jedi you told me of?"

"Not quite." Redsun replied evenly. "It seems someone came looking for him." Redsun leaned closer to speak more quietly. "A Sith Knight."

"A Sith?" Graff raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"

"I'm afraid not, sir." Redsun answered grimly.

Graff burst out laughing, as if some great joke had been told. Redsun stared at the young senator, his turn at disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Minos." Graff became calm again. His smile melted away slowly to regain a stoic expression. "What of the shipment?"

"The Sith murdered nearly the entire crew. One positive is he drove the Jedi child away. Another Jedi was reportedly there but now all are gone. The only ones left are the commander and two junior crewmembers. They should be landing on Clenestine soon. He contacted me a short while ago to inform me of the situation."

"I assume he made a clean sweep of his ship?" Graff pressed.

"He did. Devlin is a bright man."

"Then I wouldn't worry too much." Graff replied with an odd calm, patting Redsun on the shoulder.

"You're not worried about the Jedi or the Sith?" Redsun stared curiously as the Senator took a step to walk away.

"No. I'm not." Graff replied calmly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have pressing business to attend to."

The door to Drake Ezens quarters slid open. The elder Ezen's domicile was relatively humble. Ayran entered the room with a great familiarity, as it was his father's residence since Ayvan was a child. It had been his family home.

A living room was set beyond the main entry, with three curved couches surrounding a central holotable. The three couches aligned in a circle, leaving three gaps for people to enter the living area. Most things Ayvan's father did had purpose and the couches were no exception. They were for the three Jedi Orders when they would meet informally in his home; an informal throwback to the days after Luke Skwalker and his revived order would meet in a familial setting. There were some objet d'art set around the living area. A Mon Calamari statue was set on a shelf at the far end of the room. A blue and green tapestry from Naboo artisans was set on another wall – a gift from Dane Ordos. There were crystals from Fyrene. A sculpture of a humanoid form made from black volcanic rock from Mustafar. Its beautiful polished surface contrasted the violent hellish planet the mineral came from. At the side of the room was also a full set of Imperial Stormtrooper armor, set up on a mannequin beneath. The white armor was polished and looked brand new. Ayvan knew his father kept the armor to remind him of the dark days of the Empire; that heavy was the burden of his seat at the council.

Ayvan didn't like the Stormtrooper statue, at least not in the same room as a painting of his mother, which was on the wall opposite of the armor. Ayvan looked at his mother's image. She had the same skin tone as him and his father. The same ruby red eyes of their species. Her hair, however, was black with streaks of grey and blonde, typical of female Ankarians. She was as beautiful as he remembered. Hanna Ezen was far too young to have been taken by disease as she was when Ayvan was but a Padawan. Losing his mother was his first true lesson in loss and his first true heartache.

"Son." His father's voice met him.

Ayvan turned away from his mother's painting to see his father approach him from his bedroom.

"If your mother could see the days ahead what would she say?" Drake offered the question softly.

"She would say to take the days as they come." Ayvan answered.

Drake looked away as he paced in another direction. "Your mother was the pragmatist of the family. If she had an affinity through the force she would have made a great Jedi."

"As I recall she was a great counterbalance to someone who always had a plan or some kind of contingency." Ayvan smirked, obviously referencing his father.

"Planning has kept the Jedi alive for the last three hundred years." Drake replied.

"I get the sense that this is why you asked me here?" Ayvan noted plainly.

Drake again looked at his son. "Yes." Drake answered.

"The council has arrived at a decision on Obi-wan, hasn't it?" Ayvan pressed.

"In a manner of speaking." Drake nodded calmly. "The rules of our order prevent him from becoming one of us as a Jedi Knight. He is, of course, as family welcome to reside within one of the Orders – or to go about his way on his own path."

"There's a condition though." Ayvan guessed.

"We cannot apprentice Obi-wan properly nor can we have him act as a rogue Jedi freely in the universe." Drake noted. "Rules aside we cannot stop him either from… teaming up with one of us. You seem to have struck up a friendship with the boy?"

"I sense he has noble intentions and a good heart." Ayvan replied evenly. "He seems sincere and honest."

"And you sensed no darkness lurking in his being?" Drake asked honestly. "No glimmers of fear or rage that might overtake him?"

"Not any more than any other Jedi." Ayvan answered truthfully. "We are not devoid of hate or fear. We simply control it. We turn fear away and gain power from overcoming."

"That is the Jedi way, yes." Drake noted. "Obi-wan is powerful though. More powerful than many Jedi we've known."

"Your thoughts betray you, father." Ayvan responded with some surprise. "You fear him, don't you?"

"I fear what he's capable of, yes." Drake replied. "Anakin Skywalker single handedly brought the Jedi to their knees. Darius Skywalker, who I personally thought incorruptible, fell to the temptation of the dark side. Luckily we discovered his turning before it was too late." Drake Ezen turned to face his son fully, to speak plainly of the matter. "Obi-wan could benefit from the example of one of the best Jedi I know. A man who is the ideal Jedi, who can teach by example if not allowed to apprentice him formally. But also this Jedi would be powerful enough himself to deal with Obi-wan should he stray and seek vengeance – should he be tempted by the dark side of the force."

"You want me to mentor Obi-wan, informally?" Ayvan sought confirmation.

"Yes." Drake answered.

"And if he turns to the dark side you want me to kill him?" Ayvan added.

Drake exhaled and nodded. "Yes." Another pause followed. "The order must be protected. The universe must be protected. Ordinarily we simply turn away rejected candidates. Obi-wan, by merit of his power, is special. He could wreak untold havoc if he turns to the dark side."

Drake paused again, grabbing his son lightly by his upper arms to look with dead seriousness into his eyes.

"You have sensed this too, yes?" Drake asked his son. "There is a darkness on the horizon. The future is never clear through the force but that foreboding sensation is there, yes? I'm not the only one to sense it."

Ayvan took a deep breath himself, shutting his eyes for a moment to focus on the force for a moment. "Yes, I can feel it." Ayvan opened his red eyes again. "We don't know if this is due to Obi-wan though. Perhaps it's Syrik or another threat out there."

"After the pain Darius caused we cannot take this lightly." Drake countered.

"No." Ayvan replied grimly. "No, we can't."

"The council has agreed you are to go to Clenestine to investigate the _Triple Nova_ and this dark lord." Drake spoke to his son again, this time with the tone of a Jedi Master. "Obi-wan and Nash Corino are to accompany you. Hopefully we can discover some information on this Darth Syrik quickly and end this threat before it can cause real misery."

"Yes, of course father." Ayvan nodded slightly.

"Hopefully, this matter with Obi-wan will turn out to be the council simply being overly cautious. I sense the same things about him as you do and I want to believe him to be virtuous."

"Any Jedi can fall, father." Ayvan noted.

"Yes they can, my son." Drake nodded with a chilled calm. "Go now. May the force be with you."

"May the force be with you too, father." Ayvan bowed respectfully.

The younger Ezen turned and left his father's chambers.

Once Ayvan was gone Drake couldn't help but turn his eyes back towards the visage of his late wife.

"May the force protect him." Drake said to Hanna Ezen's portrait. He then turned and returned to his sleeping quarters to rest.

Darth Syrik's Infiltrator landed in the night on one of the small ovoid service pads in the Clenestine spaceport. To one side of his ship stood the great city of Cidya Mothma. The main recognizable feature of the young city was its five towers, shaped like inverted guillotine blades standing side by side, grey in its framework with nearly full glass sides. The giant towers stood at the center of the large trade city. The larger transatmospheric freighters loomed to the other side of Syrik's ship.

Syrik exited his ship, dressed fully in his black cloak. He walked hurriedly away from the dagger shaped vessel as steam rose from its main drives venting to the atmosphere. A blue uniformed security guard approached the blonde black garbed Sith unknowingly from the opposite direction of the access bridge from the landing pad.

"Hey! Your ship doesn't match its transponder coding." The guard raised a hand-held scanner accusingly to Syrik, its small screen glowing faintly off the guard. "I'm going to have to inspect yo…."

The guard suddenly choked on his words as Syrik raised a hand towards him while passing. The guard remained paralyzed, clutching at his throat to helplessly watch Syrik walk by.

"Stay away from my ship." The guard heard Syrik's grave voice warn him. "Disobey and I will find and kill you."

Syrik moved on, as though nothing had happened, walking on past the many landing pads and vessels around his own. Once away, the guard collapsed, finally able to breathe. The guard watched Syrik's dark form vanish from sight while he coughed. He quickly got to his feet and hurried off, not very interested in risking his own life over a fairly unglamorous job.

The _Ward_ exited hyperspace beyond the outer marks of Clenestine. From that distance the shipping traffic had yet to appear visibly. Clenestine's three moons were set at various points on their orbits of the habitable planet, with the large moon partially obscured by the horizon.

Ayvan sat at the controls of his vessel with Obi-wan in the copilot seat. Obi-wan had since changed out of the Jedi garb he had been loaned and wore his old cleaned clothes and the tan jacket he had last worn on the _Triple Nova_.

Nash sat behind the two Jedi in the flight engineer station, also watching the blue and green planet ahead grow as they flew closer.

"He's here." Obi-wan spoke in apprehension.

Ayvan turned to look at Obi-wan. "You control your fear. It does not control you."

"That's… settling." Nash quipped.

"You're not helping, Nash." Ayvan grumbled.

"This man butchered half the _Nova's_ crew in minutes." Nash replied. "You're saying I'm not right to be afraid?"

"We will overcome this." Ayvan noted confidently.

The _Ward_ soared down into Clenestine's atmosphere, towards the spaceport city where the _Triple Nova_ was moored.

Captain Devlin stood on the bridge of the _Triple Nova_ as it stood hovering next to one of the Clenestine spaceport docking towers, in the city of Nevar Khyn. The massive freighter floated over the deck next to an inverted L-shaped docking tower that stood about eighty feet high next to the freighter. The main cargo bays at the bottom of the _Nova_ were open, allowing large load lifters to move the many metal cargo containers out of the holds for delivery. At the top of the _Triple Nova_ another set of ramps were set down from the topside of the freighter to meet the top of the L-shaped mooring tower, allowing lighter freight to be offloaded on the elevated deck just next to the topside of the _Nova_.

Devlin walked out an open port airlock at the side of the _Triple Nova's_ bridge, which led out to a small observation deck. The new captain, having informally replaced the late Captain Harrick, drank hot javaka from a mug as he supervised the freight handling activities below.

A new junior hand walked up to Devlin and handed him a datapad to review. Devlin looked at the datapad screen and handed it back to the hand.

"That's fine." Devlin noted as he returned the pad. "Try to get them all into holding station six. I think there will be enough room."

Devlin took another sip of his javaka. All was going smoothly. The _Triple Nova's_ cargo was being moved and soon enough he would be off Clenestine and on to the next job. A part of him was still saddened, and a bit traumatized still, over the death of Harrick and most of the crew – but Devlin was also settling in rather well as master of the vessel. Having been the executive officer for so long it was a simple transition, but there was still also nothing like being in full command.

The encounter with Syrik had left Devlin weary – and paranoid. As a precaution his contractor had allowed him to open one of the packing containers of the important cargo the _Triple Nova_ had been hauling. It offered some medium of protection. Still, Devlin hoped he would be offloaded and delivered quickly so he wouldn't have to use such a deterrent.

Devlin took another sip of his javaka, looking out to the many other ships in the spaceport in similar moorings to his. Nevar Khyn was a trading metropolis, mostly centered around the starport. Most business of the medium-sized city centered on freight. The immediate area around Nevar Khyn, and its neighboring twin city Cyada Mothma, was mostly arboreal in setting, with trees stretching out far out beyond the spaceport towards the nearby coast. It was a somewhat serene setting, allowing Devlin a moment to relax.

Far beyond his sight, near one of the perimeter stacks of cargo containers, a black Sith drone ran stealthily past a metal container, leaping up with considerable silence to the top of another stack of crates.

The _Ward_ raced over the forests outside Nevar Khyn. The Clenestine city ahead reached up from the woodlands, visible at first as glass and metal spires. The spaceport came into view as the transport vessel soared over an outlying hill. Ayvan, Obi-wan, and Nash could see the rows of large transport freighters at the far end, all moored to the inverted L-shaped towers. The port was a massive hive of activity. As the _Ward _banked, Ayvan looked out the side of his ship's canopy. Below, massive containers were being transported via removable repulsor units over the surface of the port, along painted lines or enclosed passages where required to protect traffic lanes.

"There she is." Nash pointed to the _Triple Nova_ far ahead to the left.

"Should we land on top of them?" Obi-wan asked, half joking.

"That might be a little to brash." Ayvan answered. "If they're hiding something it might be best to surprise them. Besides, we have a bit of help locally."

Ayvan turned the _Ward_ to the starboard to fly towards a section of the spaceport reserved for smaller vehicles. A Corellian RT freighter, a Nemoidian transport shuttle, and a VX class Calamari shuttle were all parked near the space where the _Ward_ had been given clearance to land. Not far from the open landing zone stood about a dozen troops in tan hard shell armor. The _Ward_ slowed to hover on its humming repulsors, then floated down to land on its extending landing gear. A few moments later the rear ramp of the_ Ward_ extended, allowing Ayvan to lead Obi-wan and Nash out.

The assembled troops appeared similar to old Imperial Stormtroopers, only their armor was tan and a transparent blue tinted visor covered their faces. Republic troops, by law, were prohibited from obscuring their faces as clonetroopers and Stormtroopers of the past had done. Trooper names, in Aurebesh, were set over the left shoulder of each trooper. The man in front of the collection of troops had his face visor raised; presumably their commander. A groomed red beard covered his pale face as he held a standard issue blaster rifle slung at his chest.

"Master Jedi." The lead Republic trooper greeted Ayvan.

"Ayvan Ezen." The Jedi introduced himself before gesturing to his crew. "This is Obi-wan Shai and Nash Corino."

"I'm Captain Telan Forge." The republic soldier replied. "We've met Lieutenant Corino." He added with a smug grin.

"Captain… Forge…. Sir." Nash recalled he was required to salute.

"You guys know each other?" Obi-wan. Looked at both men quickly.

"The Lieutenant is a junior intelligence operative in the Republic." Forge nodded. "We've bumped into each other once or twice around these parts."

"Thank you for meeting us out here Captain." Ayvan noted seriously to the Republic Captain. "I hope you understand the seriousness of this matter."

"We got your message, Master Jedi." Forge replied evenly. "Smugglers running contraband through Nevar Khyn. Not something we haven't tackled in the past."

"My message also noted the possibility of a Sith Knight in this vicinity." Ayvan remained serious.

"I've never encountered a Sith." Forge responded flatly. "I didn't think they existed anymore."

"I assure you they do, Captain." Ayvan countered.

"I think we can handle this." Forge noted confidently. "I have backup forces on standby if needed – more than enough to handle whatever we might encounter."

"I hope so Captain." Ayvan nodded slightly.

"You gentlemen ready?" Forge gestured by angling his rifle towards a path away from the landing zone.

"This is your jurisdiction, Captain." Ayvan answered, gesturing with his hands in the same direction. "Please, lead the way."

Forge smiled back at the Jedi before calling out to his men. "Alright, lets head out."

The tan and black armored soldiers followed the Jedi and their Captain away from the landing field.

A Jedi leading armored troops into potential conflict. As Ayvan looked at the troopers marching with him he realized this sight too had been quite rare since the days of the Clone Wars.

The massive cargo containers continued to move about, to and from the underside of the _Triple Nova_. A load lifter stacked some smaller crates on a floating skiff. A courier on an open-sided speeder loaded several cases into his vehicle. He then took a smaller satchel and slung it over his arms before entering his speeder to fly off. A customs agent for the Nevar Khyn spaceport spoke with one of the _Nova's_ hands before inspecting another crate's manifest log. All the activity seemed to flow in a routine manner.

The Republic troops entered the area, cautious of all the moving vehicles and automated floating cargo movers. At first, they went unnoticed at the outer perimeter, but as the tan armored soldiers drew further towards the giant freighter, the more eyes turned towards them. The tan armored Republic troops spread out slightly in a loose formation, blaster rifles ready yet slung down at their chests in front of them.

Captain Devlin, still at the outer balcony of the bridge, looked down to see the Republic troops – and the Jedi – approaching the unlading zone of his ship.

"Ensign Obek?" Devlin called out indirectly to his assistant, his eyes still fixed on the Jedi and the Republic troops far below.

"Yessir." Obek, a female humanoid, answered quickly.

"How soon can we be out of here?" Devlin asked calmly.

"The last few containers are out. Everything coming in has been secured since we're not heavy going out." She replied. "I'd say an hour."

"Make it faster." Devlin responded.

"Aye, aye, sir." Obek responded before turning away to carry out her orders.

Devlin then raised his wrist com to his mouth. He keyed in a series of numbers into the com.

"Security." A voice called back.

"Zedin? This is the captain." Devlin spoke calmly into the wrist com. "I think it's time to implement backup security."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line. "Yes sir." Zedin answered.

The com line closed. Devlin waited, still looking down at the approaching Republic troops and the Jedi.

The Republic troops marched in a stretched out among the containers, careful to cover any spots for possible ambush. The gloves of one trooper curled again, reassuringly, over the grip of his blaster rifle. Most of the tan troopers were calm, as Nevar Khyn was home. Still, many kept at the ready and alert, especially those walking near Ayvan Ezen – a true Jedi Knight.

Something oddly mechanical moved at the left flank of the group. It looked like loader arms at first to Ayvan but he and Forge realized quickly what they really were.

"You got your blaster with you, right Nash?" Obi-wan asked, seeing the threat himself and pulling his lightsaber from his belt.

Nash looked in the direction Obi-wan had been staring. "Damn!" Nash exhaled, seeing the quad-legged spider droid advancing on them from behind several cargo containers.

Nash pulled his blaster out from his holster. Obi-wan's blue lightsaber blade shrieked to life.

Two more spider droids appeared. One closest to the troops aimed its main cannon at the formation. Obi-wan sprang into action, hurling himself at blinding speed towards the droid before it could fire. A heavy round screamed out of the spider droid's main cannon. Obi-wan batted away the bolt but its energy was far too intense – the explosion of the deflection threw Obi-wan far off several meters with great force into a container stack.

Ayvan was already in action, leaping through the air to land atop another cargo container. The Jedi rain across the top of the container as the spider droid tried to fire on him.

"OPEN FIRE!" Captain Forge ordered his men. At once all the soldiers let loose with return fire from their blaster rifles.

Ayvan leapt through the air, landing atop the spider droid. His green lightsaber stabbed down into the head of the droid, then was pulled out and cut in a downward arc to cut off the main cannon of the metal beast. Ayvan leapt away as the spider droid exploded from the damage.

The Republic troopers scattered, still holding fire on the spider droids. The droids fired a few more heavy cannon blasts, which detonated around the Republic troopers scattering for cover. One Republic troop flew away in a fiery blast; clearly killed by the explosion.

Bipedal battledroids appeared. They were silver armored and heavy set like real humanoid soldiers, not frail or comical like the old ancient models. These battle droids were menacing, rushing out to fire on the Republic troops with the grace and speed of living and well-trained troopers.

Ayvan found himself deflecting several blaster rounds from the new battle droids. He hit one in the head with a deflected blaster round, then cut through the upper body of another battle droid, all the while trying to get to another of the spider units to reduce the threat they presented.

It was then that Ayvan felt a warning through the force. He ducked as a sizzling energy staff swung by his head. He deflected another with his green lightsaber blade. Stepping back Ayvan saw his attackers; a pair of IG-200 MagnaGuards wielding electrostaffs.

"Oh, this is getting ridiculous!" Ayvan circled his green blade around himself in a rallying maneuver twice, ending in a ready attack stance.

The IG-200's obliged him. Spinning their crackling electrostaffs they both charged in unison. Ayvan charged as well headlong. Anticipating their attack through the force, Ayvay flew into a flat spiral kick through their swinging electrostaffs, their charged ends missing him just barely. Surprising the IG-200's artificial intelligence as best as anyone could, Ayvan blocked a pair of swings from one of the assassin drones, chopping up through its right arm with his green humming saber, then down through its central torso. The defeated droids severed parts, outlined in glowing slag, fell to the deck along with its electrostaff, which bounced with a metal ping ping ping.

Ayvan and the remaining IG droid fought viciously. The surviving IG-200 seemed better it its attack without a second IG droid nearby. Ayvan angled his blade left then right, blocking the charged ends of the staff, missed with an upward slice of his saber. The droid ducked a flat return swing of the green blade and then hooked Ayvan's leg. The pain from the strike was immense but the Jedi managed to flip backwards from another swipe of the electrostaff.

Obi-wan finally got up from where he had fallen after being slammed into the cargo containers. He saw Ayvan fighting the IG droid and reactivated his blue lightsaber blade. No sooner had the blue blade shrieked to life that he felt an ominous presence.

Darth Syrik charged him from his left. Obi-wan angled his blue blade down to deflect the blow, then two more around his body. Obi-wan held the red blade to his side with his blue saber before throwing Syrik back.

"The end has come, Shai!" Syrik sneered.

Obi-wan answered by chopping for Syrik's shoulder but was blocked by the Sith's red blade. A group of fast strikes around Syrik's body were deflected expertly, countered by a hard chop from Syrik's red blade. Obi-wan angled his blue saber and held Syrik's blade for a moment before the Sith could renew his attack. Syrik pushed Obi-wan back with a series of slashes and swings, each squelching off the blue blade as it frantically defended. Obi-wan ducked, causing Syrik to miss. An opening appeared above Syrik's right shoulder. Obi-wan's blade was stopped there by Syrik's red saber, then clashed between them angrily.

A pair of black streaks quickly charged. One flew past Obi-wan while another met his blue lightsaber with its own red blade. Obi-wan backed away quickly, leaving him facing an intimidating sight: Darth Syrik standing with his red lightsaber at his side – flanked by two black droids that looked like thin versions of Darth Vader, minus the cape. Both Sith drones adopted an attack stance with their red lightsaber blades.

Control your fear…. Obi-wan remembered.

Obi-wan adopted an attack stance to counter.

Around them the Republic troops continued their battle with the battle droids. Explosions and blaster fire surrounded the area, but for some reason Syrik was afforded a wide berth, perhaps to indulge him in killing Obi-wan.

A MagnaGuard, thrown back by the force, flew at high speed into the Sith Drone at Syrik's right. The black metal drone and the MagnaGuard landed in a handling area not far off.

Ayvan Ezen, green lightsaber ready, rushed to Obi-wan's side.

"This should make us about even." Ayvan noted to Syrik.

The MagnaGuard and the Sith drone quickly detangled from where they had fallen. Weapons returned to their droid hands. The Sith Drone used some form of magnetism or confined tractor beam. The MagnaGuard flipped over and kicked up its electrostaff with a foot claw, pitching it up into its robotic grasp.

The Sith drone went after the MagnaGuard, which raised its electrostaff to block the drone's red lightsaber blade. After a quick exchange of a few strikes the Sith drone cut through the MagnaGuard's staff, then severed its head, then cleaved its body in two.

Its opponent finished, the Sith drone returned to its place with Syrik and its identical copy on the Sith's opposite flank.

"Or not." Ayvan added, slightly adjusting his stance.

"You're a fool if you think this Jedi can protect you." Syrik addressed Obi-wan directly. Fire and smoke whipped in the wind behind him.

"He doesn't need my protection." Ayvan shouted back over the battle.

"Wraiths. Kill the Jedi." Syrik ordered the Sith drones.

The Wraiths obliged in mechanical obedience. They simultaneously leapt in the air, landing at either side of Ayvan. Obi-wan jumped in to defend his new friend, exchanging only a few strikes with the Sith drone before Syrik rushed in.

Obi-wan and Syrik renewed their clash. Ayvan, a short distance away, fought for his life as the two Wraith drones went after him with their humming red lightsaber blades.

A blast from the last remaining spider droid separated Ayvan and Obi-wan. The Republic soldiers swarmed the small walker droid, destroying it with blaster rifle fire and finally a man-portable photon canon. The soldiers continued battling the remaining droid foot soldiers, who's numbers were slowly being blasted away.

Obi-wan found himself stumbling through a haze of smoke, trying to get his bearings and feel where Syrik might be. His humming blue blade flashed in a turn of his body, blocking what was an attacking slash to his back as Syrik's red blade cracked angrily down against his saber. They traded several more strikes around them, their blue and red blades glowing in the smoke as they battled. Feeling overpowered and disoriented, Obi-wan leapt up through the force away from Syrik. Syrik's eyes followed Obi-wan up to a small access platform on the _Triple Nova's_ massive mooring arm. Obi-wan met his evil gaze for a moment across the smoky expanse before disappearing into the mooring arm tower structure.

"Run you coward!" Syrik sneered in vile satisfaction.

Nash Corino, hiding partially behind a spool of tritanium wire, exchanged blaster fire with a group of remaining battledroids. His blaster pistol struck one of the brushed silver droids in the chest, dropping it from the damage.

A fire was growing to Nash's left. He could hear the sirens of Nevar Khyn's fire brigade getting closer.

Through the smoke he caught sight of the green lightsaber blade of Ayvan Ezen, clashing with the two red sabers of the Wraiths.

Ayvan ducked one red blade, angled away from another, blocked one high to his right, then rotated away from a counterswing, cutting one of the Wraiths in half with the same flash of motion.

The remaining drone backed away, seemingly intimidated.

"Well, it's just you and me now." Ayvan remarked to the Wraith flatly, pointing his glowing green blade at the mechanoid.

The Sith drone charged. Their blades clashed again.

One of the cylindrical turbolift stations at the top of the mooring arm opened, allowing Darth Syrik to stride out onto the broad upper deck of the structure. A number of large loading droids stood still across the metal deck, all powered down as a precaution during the violent disturbance occurring throughout the dock. The main top deck was about twenty or so meters wide and probably four times as long. The open top cargo bay ramps from the topside of the _Triple Nova_ were extended out onto the top of the mooring arm deck, with unloaded cargo containers set about the work area.

Darth Syrik held out his deactivated lightsaber blade in his right hand as he casually walked out through the vacated work area. He could sense his prey near but he took his time in locating him. He could sense that Obi-wan was waiting for him before actually sighting the young force user.

Not far ahead, after a series of smaller containers, stood Obi-wan Shai. The young brown-haired Shai stood calmly with his arms folded over his chest.

"You seem to be resigned to your fate, Obi-wan." Syrik grinned. "Much like your father."

"I'm not going to run from you." Obi-wan replied, ignoring the obvious taunt.

"Good." Syrik smiled deeper in satisfaction.

"I did realize one thing though." Obi-wan continued calmly. "You knew my parents, didn't you? When you think of them there's a… deep seeded hatred. This isn't just the hate one feels from the dark side alone. This is the hate of knowing someone well enough and feeling betrayed."

Syrik studied Shai as he slowly circled his perimeter, sizing him up.

"Your powers have developed beyond your years it seems." Syrik replied. "Your parents were weak. Your father could have stood with Darius and achieved greatness. If it weren't for your mother your father, and you, would have ended up like me."

"I seriously doubt that!" Obi-wan bit back.

"No, it's true." Syrik added. "You sensed it yourself before I ended his life. Your father had no problems tapping into the dark side of the force. Yet even with the majesty of darkness at his command he was still unable to best me."

Obi-wan tried to remain calm. He knew Syrik was trying to hurt him mentally. To gain an emotional advantage.

"Your parents hid not only because of you, Obi-wan, but because of what Arik feared inside himself. That he was unable to ignore the temptation of the dark side." Syrik shouted back forcefully.

Obi-wan took a breath, knowing that while Syrik's words held a pang of truth that they were also meant to taunt him and throw him off balance.

"There's something else there." Obi-wan focused his senses through the force. It took some time for him to recognize the feeling he sensed. "Acceptance!" Obi-wan's eyes widened. "You met them in years past… and they didn't accept you."

"It's your mother's birthright that she didn't accept. And Arik's true nature that he turned away from." Syrik sneered back. "I am what they could have become."

"Were you Darius' student? Is that it? Are you avenging your master?"

"If that were the case I would have started with the old woman that killed him." Syrik replied bitterly. "But I'll get to her eventually."

Syrik's blue eyes stared across the distance at Obi-wan's. Again, a broad evil, satisfied, smile appeared on the Sith's young face.

"You trust the Jedi don't you?" Syrik added. "You are your father's son, Obi-wan. When the Jedi sense the dark seed within you they'll kill you the way they killed Darius. One day you will lose your faith in the Jedi as I have!"

"There is no darkness within me. I control my own destiny!"

Syrik allowed himself a laugh. "Not for much longer!"

"You're not going any further than where you're standing." Obi-wan extended his silver and black lightsaber handle out to his right. Its glowing blue blade shrieked as it extended from the end of the handle.

"Indeed! Let's finish this!" Syrik activated his red lightsaber blade.

Their lightsabers clashed again between then, scorching off one another in a furious exchange. Obi-wan leaped over a sweep of Syrik's red blade, then stopped the Sith's lightsaber over his right shoulder, holding it there with his eyes meeting his evil glare.

Ayvan continued to battle the remaining Sith drone as smoke rose from several fires around them. Ayvan's blade was stopped above the black drone's head. With a sharp whip of its blade the Sith drone flipped Ayvan's green saber from his grasp. The green blade shrunk back into its silver and black handle as it flew away.

Disarmed, Ayvan ducked a flat swing, then rotated away from a chop. The Jedi Knight flipped back from a reverse flat slash from the humming red blade. In a quick glance Ayvan caught sight of the broken remains of the first Sith drone. Reaching out with the force, Ayvan caught the form of the first Sith drone's lightsaber handle. He then vaulted over the active Wraith, landing a foot on its right shoulder panel to helm him flip over the thin black droid. The first drone's lightsaber flew into Ayvan's hand. The red blade activated in his grasp just as he landed, allowing him to chop up through both of the Sith drone's arms. Ayvan's red blade then cut diagonally down through the black drone's body.

The glowing red saber remained in Ayvan's hand as he stared down for a few moments at the remains of the drone, making certain that it was truly vanquished. Satisfied that it was dead Ayvan reached out to grab his own saber with the force. The red lightsaber vanished into its handle as Ayvan's saber flew into his free hand.

The Jedi then looked up through the mass of rising smoke up to the top of the mooring tower high above. He could see the glow of red and blue flashing above at the top platform of the tower. Obi-wan and Syrik were still fighting bitterly.

Ayvan ran towards the base of the mooring tower, desperate to get to Obi-wan to help him.

Obi-wan and Syrik traded a pair of hard strikes between them. Syrik batted aside a high swing to his right. He swatted away another swing from Obi-wan at his left. Obi-wan angled his blade around his body in a flash of fluid movement, locking blades with Syrik between them, then shoved the Sith back hard.

Their battle took them closer to the far end of the tower platform. Smoke rose in an apocalyptic veil around them, casting the surrounding spaceport and city in an eerie haze.

Syrik fought with all the malice he could summon determined to break Obi-wan's defense. Obi-wan would not yield, deflecting or evading every lethal slash of Syrik's burning red blade, lashing out wherever he could. Obi-wan swatted Syrik's blade back, chopped down at his head only to be blocked, rotated away from a diagonal downward slash, spinning with his blue blade to tag Syrik in his right shoulder. Syrik chopped again down at Obi-wan, who leaned away and thrust his blue blade through Syrik's chest.

It was over. Syrik, stunned, allowed his red lightsaber blade to fall from his grasp. The red blade vanished back into its handle before it hit the metal decking.

"Heh…." Syrik stared lucidly into nothingness, somehow finding humor in his end. His blue eyes turned up to look at Obi-wan, who still held his blue lightsaber through Syrik's torso. "This isn't the end…"

Obi-wan was about to withdraw his blade but Syrik's right arm suddenly grabbed the white fabric of his shirt at his right shoulder.

"You have no idea what I am do you?" Syrik glared angrily at young Obi-wan. Syrik's evil eyes, his matted blonde hair, the grime on his sweaty face – all burned into Obi-wan's thoughts.

"You and I… we are kin!" Syrik's grin broadened, as though knowing an inside joke or some horrible secret.

Ayvan finally appeared from the turbolift landing far behind Obi-wan. He saw the young boy holding Syrik's defeated yet upright form next to him impaled on his glowing blue lightsaber blade.

Obi-wan finally withdrew his saber, allowing the blue blade to deactivate with a shink.

Syrik stumbled backwards, closer to the edge. The Sith, embracing his fate, reached out his arms in a crucifix form and took the final steps backwards. Darth Syrik leaned back, allowing himself to fall into the billowing smoke rising from far below.

"NO!" Obi-wan rushed to him with an outreached hand.

It was too late. Obi-wan looked over the side to see Syrik's form fall into the haze. He lost sight of the body in the smoke before it hit the ground. Shaken by his own victory and the sight of Syrik falling, Obi-wan walked backwards, almost stumbling, in a daze away from the edge.

Ayvan Ezen hurried up to Obi-wan's side. He placed his right arm on Obi-wan's shoulder, shocking him back into reality to look quickly in surprise at the dark-skinned Jedi.

"It's over." Ayvan reassured him calmly.

Obi-wan took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself.

"It's over, Obi-wan." Ayvan reassured him again.

Down below, the last of the battledroids had been destroyed. Captain Forge and the remaining soldiers of his unit worked mop up operations. One of his troopers stood over the squirming remains of a droid. Assuming its cybernetic brain was in its head, the Republic soldier pulled out his blaster pistol from his hip holster. A fiery bolt blasted through the head of the droid, killing it finally.

Fire brigade air speeders began to fly into the area, dousing the burning areas of the spaceport with foaming white fire suppressant. The smoke continued to billow up into the darkening sky but at a much-reduced rate.

Nash Corino surveyed the damage as he finally holstered his blaster pistol. He realized how much he had fired the weapon as he felt the heat of the barrel even through the well-insulated containment of his hip holster. He walked towards Forge, who had just finished getting a verbal brief from one of his junior officers.

"Quite a mess, eh Lieutenant?" Forge met Nash's gaze. "Is this the cargo you were worried about?" Forge looked over his shoulder at a destroyed spider droid.

"I think so, sir." Nash answered.

"You think so?" Forge asked with uncertainty. "You didn't visually confirm these battledroids were in the _Triple Nova's_ cargo bay?"

Nash took a worried breath. He got a frightening sense of where Forge was going with his questioning.

"I wasn't able to get eyes on them, no sir." Nash answered flatly.

Forge exhaled deeply. "Well, I think there's enough here to charge the _Nova's _crew. Let's just hope it's good enough for Republic courts."

A group of Republic troopers approached from around a group of stacked containers. Captain Devlin and a few of his senior crewmembers were being escorted away. Based on their appearance, Devlin and the _Nova_ crew were being placed under arrest. The tan and black armored Republic troopers were an imposing sight, especially with some of them bearing scoring on their armor plating from the battle.

Devlin and his crew stopped before Forge and Nash.

"Nash Corino." Captain Devlin smirked at his former hand. "You were with the Republic this whole time? Spying on us were you?"

Nash remained silent for a moment, offering only a cold glance back at Devlin. "Who were you delivering these too, Juros?"

Devlin remained silent as he looked around at the destruction and the wrecked droids. "These droids? I didn't think we were shipping droids."

"Sir, where should we process the crew?" a Republic trooper escorting the _Nova _crew asked Forge.

"Take them to station sixteen." Captain Forge noted. "See to it that they get any medical attention or nourishment they require."

"Yes sir." The armored officer replied. "Come on." The trooper ordered the prisoners and Republic troops alike. The group marched away, leaving the damaged area.

"See ya around, kid." Devlin grinned at Nash before walking away.

Forge looked at Nash again. "We'll talk about this after this is cleaned up." Forge said before walking away himself.

Nash stood in the middle of the open area of the dock. He again looked around at all of the devastation and demolished mechanoids. He was suddenly worried about their ability to make charges to Devlin and the _Triple Nova_ crew stick. Surely there had to be some intelligence they could glean from them. Nash needed to know where Devlin was delivering the battledroids. And the new models of droids! They had been menacing and as formidable as any hardened soldier. The sight of the MagnaGuards was also troubling. They were armed with force pikes and excellent melee warriors. And the Sith drones! Whomever was behind the arms shipment seemed to be preparing to take on the Jedi – which was very troubling!

Through the haze, Nash caught sight of Obi-wan and Ayvan emerging from the base of the mooring tower. Obi-wan caught sight of Nash from a distance and offered a slight wave in acknowledgment.

Nash waved back. "Well, there's at least some good that comes of this." He said to himself quietly.

A Jedi transport exited hyperspace beyond Umaru. The tri-finned vessel, an updated Lambda shuttle, angled towards the grey and green planet below. The grey and white shuttle broke through the atmosphere, soaring down along a similar route taken only recently by Syrik's Infiltrator. Within a few minutes the Lambda shuttle was flying over the same evergreen forest where the Sith had landed, flying a few hundred meters above the surface towards the dry riverbed where the modular Shai homestead still stood.

Below, the modular units that made up the Shai home remained the same as they had been left by their late owners. The remains of the Shai's had been respectfully removed by the Jedi now standing watch over the home. Though Arik and Laura had abandoned The Orders, the Jedi nonetheless treated them as their own in death. They were Jedi and deserved to be remembered as Jedi Knights.

Nyoth Rok stood beyond the main entry of the Shai home, watching the Lambda shuttle descend slowly several meters in front of him. Its large wings folded up and back before setting down on the earthen ground. The main landing ramp descended beneath the forward cockpit of the shuttle, venting curtains of pressurized air at its sides before the occupants of the shuttle walked down.

Victoria Skywalker, wearing maroon and gold Jedi robes and a cloak with embroidered trim, emerged first down the ramp. Another female Jedi named Lyssa Anota, the woman that had stood behind Victoria in the hologram at the Ezen Temple, walked down after. A young Zabrak male, probably fifteen years old or so with tan horns and brown hair, followed Lyssa down. A braid in the Zabrak's hair and his proximity to Lyssa suggested he was her padawan. Lyssa and her apprentice stopped at the end of the ramp, allowing Victoria Skywalker to walk the remaining distance to meet Rok on her own.

"Lady Skywalker." Nyoth greeted her with a smile.

"Master Rok." Victoria replied in a calm reserved tone.

Victoria's aged blue eyes looked out beyond Jedi Master Rok towards the Shai

homestead. She looked to the wide windows of the modular units, a few of which were still slid open. The walk up to the middle common living area unit was landscaped with a modest garden, with wood steps leading up to the broad glass entry. Laura Shai loved flowers, Victoria remembered. Many different colorful species of native flora accented the entry walk garden; some hanging from pots, others in well-kept flower beds or in row planters.

"This was their home." Victoria noted aloud, somewhat sadly.

Rok turned to share Victoria's view of the home. "Yes." He said flatly. "We've done a sweep of the home already to look for any information about Syrik or…"

"That's not what I was talking about Nyoth." Victoria walked into the garden walkway. She reached out to one of the hanging plants, touching its green vines and yellow flowers. "Her hands tended this. Laura Skywalker… my niece… her hands toiled in this earth. Her hands made this home." Victoria's tone was colored in sadness. "And she died defending it."

"Does the boy know?" Nyoth asked Victoria, certain that no one could hear them.

"About what, Master Rok?" Victoria still had her aged eyes on the flowers.

"That we knew of Darth Syrik since he was a child? When his name was Marek Tal?" Nyoth asked Victoria flatly.

Victoria's attention turned to Rok in surprise. "Drake told you this?" she asked somewhat cautiously.

"I'm not a great fool, Master Skywalker." Rok grinned back at her, somewhat easing the tension. "I've put it together on my own over the last few months –when our Jedi started dying at his hands. Drake confirmed it when I presented this to him but, yes, I came to it on my own."

"This bastard child of my brother's!" Victoria spat venomously, thinking of the pain Syrik had inflicted to this house. She calmed eventually. "We never knew it would come to this. I knew my brother might have had secret heirs throughout the galaxy. When I learned of Marek Tal I wondered what should be done. Kill a young boy simply for his parentage? Bring him to the order? I went to see him myself. He was an unsuitable candidate."

Victoria glanced again at a bright red potted flower.

"Marek Tal had no idea of his power and my brother was dead." Victoria continued. "I believed Tal would go on with his life, unaware of the power within him. His adoptive parents were wealthy. He had no reason to hate or want. I had hoped he would go on with his life as an ordinary citizen of the Republic."

"But he didn't." Rok continued. "His parents were killed and he learned of the power within himself."

Victoria again looked at Nyoth with a stern glance. "You're thorough in your research, Master Rok."

"Drake put me on the investigation early when Syrik killed Hallat Pyrett." Rok explained. "I found out Hallat had clues to Syrik's parentage. With a bit of work it didn't take long to put the pieces together."

"Tal's parents were killed by those jealous of their status. Their only crime was success." Victoria responded. "I suspect this tragedy triggered some kind of connection with him to his inner power… and the dark side. There was no one to train him and we kept watch. He remained master of the Tal house for a few years but then…"

"He disappeared." Rok finished her sentence.

"Yes." Victoria answered coldly. "And he would reemerge to kill our own. Many might argue this is my doing… and they might be right."

"You didn't foresee this." Rok replied. "It's impossible to tell how these choices would play out over time. Master Ezen or myself or even Dane Ordos might have done the same. The real question is… who trained him?"

"I've been agonizing over this question myself." Victoria added. "Our ability to detect the Dark Side is unreliable. This much is certain."

"One thing is for certain though, Lady Skywalker." Nyoth noted.

Victoria looked at Rok, waiting for him to continue.

"Secrets are never good for the Jedi Order." Rok continued. "It nearly led to our extinction in the past. The danger of keeping secrets hasn't changed."

"I know this, Master Rok. Drake Ezen and Dane Ordos know this as well." Victoria spoke in a slightly more defensive tone.

"They knew of Marek Tal. The High Council has no secrets. If all the Jedi knew this or even the Republic…"

"Marek Tal is dead. Darth Syrik is no more." Victoria countered. "His secrets died with him."

"There's only one problem, Master Skywalker." Rok held his gaze on Victoria. "Obi-wan Shai believes Darth Syrik survived."

Victoria gave the words some thought. "We have the same issue with Obi-wan Shai. He's not a true Jedi."

"He's as powerful as any of us." Rok responded sharply. "This much is certain."

"Drake will then assign his son and Shai to the task of finding Darth Syrik." Victoria stated, walking over slowly to stand before Nyoth. "Obi-wan's skill and his experience with Syrik might help locate him if he is indeed alive. If Obi-wan is so certain that he's alive then maybe he senses something we are unable to."

Nytoh remained silent for a moment, eventually nodding softly. "Very well. That seems like a sound idea."

Victoria took a final glance around the garden before looking into the house. The main living area stood beyond the broad glass entry. She turned her head slowly, seeing the damage in the kitchen. The sink cut in two on its wall mount by a lightsaber. Melted or destroyed cooking utensils. A nearby wall console cut, also by a lightsaber. Signs of a struggle. Evidence of a mother desperately defending her home. Victoria's aged eyes pressed together as she seemingly winced. She could see the echoes of what had occurred through the force. Her blue eyes opened again, returning her to the current reality.

"Is the memorial ready?" Victoria asked.

"Arik and Laura's remains have been prepared, yes." Rok answered.

"Then lead the way, Master Rok." Victoria gestured away with her thin aged hand.

"Follow me, please." Rok smiled, turning away from Victoria to lead her into the house.

A large funeral pyre was set up at the edge of the river well beyond the Shai homestead. A number of logs had been set in a large tiered square. It was a structure assembled with the utmost utility and respect.

At the top were two humanoid forms wrapped in white silk. A number of Jedi stood around the pyre structure, with the mountains where Obi-wan had once practiced standing tall into the early evening sky beyond the lake.

Obi-wan Shai stood alone, his eyes fixed up at the sight of his parent's bodies wrapped in white at the top. This, he realized with finality, was the end of one life and the beginning of another. He was no longer a child. He no longer had parents. From then on, he was on his own. Certainly, the Jedi offered a home and helped fill some of that void, but Obi-wan knew the path ahead wouldn't be so simple. Death had come looking for him – and he had conquered it. His parents, however, weren't so fortunate.

Familiar forms approached Obi-wan from behind. They were beings he was already becoming accustomed to sensing as friends.

"When my mother died, I sensed her passing through the force." Ayvan Ezen noted somberly. "It was difficult at first, her not being there. One moment she was full of life. Frail, yes, but imbued with life. The next…. a vacancy. A void I could no longer sense. But I knew she was always with me. I knew she would always be a part of who I am."

Ayvan walked up to stand beside Obi-wan. Nash Corino followed, standing just next to Ayvan quietly.

"The force gave me something I don't think ordinary children have." Obi-wan said with his eyes still fixed on the top of the pyre. "It allowed me to see how beautiful my mother was on the inside as well as the outside." Obi-wan paused, clearly touched by grief. "I knew even when she fell how much she loved me."

"Your mother gave up everything for you." Victoria Skywalker sad as she approached the group from behind.

All heads turned towards the aged Jedi Master.

"Lady Skywalker." Ayvan bowed respectfully.

Obi-wan and Nash followed suit and bowed as well.

"Your mother was all but certain to have a seat on the Skywalker Council." Victoria added, also looking up at the funeral pyre. "Your father was also a respected knight in the Rykane Order. After what happened with my brother, they felt they would rather spend their years nurturing you, as an ordinary family, rather than continue on with us. They didn't want you to know strife. They didn't want you to experience the dark corners of the universe."

"They thought that by leaving they would avoid all this. That running away would keep me safe." Obi-wan confirmed.

"They knew better though." Victoria replied. "They trained you well as a Jedi. Better than anyone could it seems."

The group remained quiet for a moment. To the right of the pyre torches were being prepared.

"We have your parent's lightsabers." Victoria added evenly. "You are entitled to them, of course, but as you have your own it would probably be wise for us to keep them in our vaults."

"It's probably better that you hold them if that's okay." Obi-wan responded. "Maybe in a little time, when I'm ready, I'll come and claim them."

"We found evidence of a few of the planets Syrik might have visited." Ayvan noted quietly. "The nav computer on his ship was programmed to clear if he left it unattended for a while but we were able to glean some information from his hyperdrive buffer."

"We'll get to the bottom of what's happening." Nash added. "The Republic really wants to know more about what's happening as well. Syrik was probably doing more than exacting vendetta."

"There is a time and place for this." Victoria Skywalker stated calmly. "We can discuss this another time."

Obi-wan looked at Victoria and then back up to the funeral pyre.

"Yes, of course." Young Obi-wan nodded.

The funeral pyre was lit. The dozen or so Jedi surrounding the flames gathered their circle closer.

Obi-wan watched the flames burn into the dark sky, to climb up and engulf the forms of his parents.

Obi-wan Shai quietly said goodbye.


End file.
